Food Chains and Microscope Views

I shared our Monday notes in my last post, so let's pick up with Tuesday. The day started out a bit different because after dropping Joseph off for seminary at 5:55am I headed to the hospital for lab work. Eight vials of blood later I headed home and we got our morning started with breakfast, chores, getting dressed, and then school work.

Caleb reached the point in his Handwriting Without Tears book where cursive is introduced. He is so excited. We pulled out the chalkboard and got to work. He liked the flow of one letter into another.

Various kids completed reading, language arts, math, and so on. Daniel wrote a poem today while Joseph and Emma wrote about a book they recently finished reading. Elementary group science today was on food chains and webs. The boys lined up and started choosing a role in the chain. In one chain we had the sun, grass, a grasshopper, a snake, and a hawk. Then we started creating several chains that all linked together, such as orange tree-caterpillar-bird, orange tree-caterpillar-frog-bird, orange tree-squirrel-cat, orange tree-deer-bear. The boys had a blast being different predators and prey, deciding what kind of consumers each animal was, etc.

I baked chocolate chip pumpkin muffins and blueberry muffins. Over an early lunch we listened to more of Little Men, followed by our usual afternoon medical care. At 1:00pm we sat down to watch the live stream of a devotional with President Russel M. Nelson, then it was on to piano lessons and enjoying the rest of our day.

Wednesday I had one very grumpy child for the entire school day. It made for a rough morning but I practiced being impervious: "Unable to be affected by something". We made it through. I wonder if they are getting sick, because they went to their room and napped, something they haven't done in years.

Wednesday afternoon I got most of my bloodwork results from my endocrinologist. My thyroid numbers are good so no change to my medication dose. I am anemic (low iron), which I suspected, and my vitamin D levels are low, among other things. That means I've got some new supplements to take and have to split things up over 3 different times of day so they don't affect the absorption of each other. For the anemia I'm starting by taking vitamin C and dessicated liver pills. I don't like the side effects of iron pills, so we'll try this for a couple months to see if it helps enough. I've done this in the past and it has worked well. Liver pills are pretty smelly and taste about like you would expect liver to taste - yuck! For the vitamin D I'm supplementing and trying to increase my time outside in the sun. I will repeat bloodwork in a few months to see what is improving and what needs a new approach.

In the evening five kids headed off to the church for youth and scout activities. I loaded up the younger four to pick them up when it was over and we did a little stargazing when we got home, then bedtime.

Thursday the older two had some microscopic specimens to look at under the microscope. They are doing Apologia's Biology course together this year and the current module is about microscopic life forms.

I tried to get a few pictures of what they could see using my phone.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Some kids started research on places to visit on the Isle of the Skye in Scotland. My elementary science kids drew food chains. There were books read. Snacks eaten. Math work completed. It was a solid, normal day. In the evening Joseph, Emma, and Daniel headed to the temple with grandparents.

Friday we had to postpone book club for a week because of illness in one of the families. We had a typical school morning, then settled in to listen to Little Men over lunch, as usual. We are enjoying the book.

In mom learning this week I started reading The Smartest Kids in the World - and how they got that way by Amanda Ripley. It's been on my to read list for a while and I finally got a copy through the library. It is interesting so far - a reporter follows U.S. exchange students as they spend a year in top ranking countries, interviews researchers in education and testing internationally, and uses narrative to explore the state of education around the world. 

I am also almost halfway through The Book of Mormon, and two-thirds of the way through the New Testament in the Bible.

I'm reading some 'just for fun' books as well.

I've learned that I like to have reading going in several categories. Then I can pick up the book that fits my mood at the moment. I also try to make sure at least one is an ebook, so it is on my phone and easy to work on waiting in line, in doctor's offices, etc.

Two Weeks of September

Cedar Point, middle of the day of fun.

Saturday was a fun and exhausting day. Daniel had asked last Christmas for tickets to Cedar Point, an amusement park. He's never really ridden on roller coasters, other than a small one at the zoo, so I wasn't sure how this would go. It ended up being a blast! One on one time for him and I, tons of fun, and the longest line we stood in was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Sunday was a peaceful day with church, video chatting with Makayla, and family time. 

Rebekah loves to put on an apron and help me 

in the kitchen.

Monday was Labor Day and we decided this was going to be just a regular school week for us. One of the perks of homeschooling is deciding when we want our time off to be. Nobody felt the need for a day off, so school work was done in the morning. In the afternoon I did grocery shopping that hadn't been done Saturday, prepared a package to mail to Makayla, and worked on a brainstorm list of materials to go in our playdough bin.

Tuesday I snuck over to the post office to mail a package to Makayla. Then it was back home to oversee homeschool work along with Daddy. He got an extra day off this week and we were thrilled. Mid-morning as I was gathering the elementary boys for science we made a fun discovery. Outside our front window we have a bunch of sunflowers the kids grew. Today several Monarch butterflies were visiting the sunflowers, as well as a hummingbird. It was so neat to watch!

We did finish the last of the 5 senses in science today. It was the sense of hearing, which of course calls for a good game of telephone. The kids were thrilled to have piano lessons after an impromptu August break.

Pirate Treasure playdough

Wednesday was a slow and steady day. Everyone worked on their assignments in a pretty steady way. One child has been especially chatty/distracting this week, so we will probably be working on a solution for that next week. In the past he has worn noise cancelling headphones like you wear at a gun range, so that is the first thing we'll try.

Mason Funny Moment: Out of the blue while labeling a map of North America he asked, "Mom, I wonder what a king would do with an executed person's head? And why would people want to watch a person be executed? That would be really bloody!"

Brothers playing together.

After checking in with my elementary age boys, I've decided the next while our science group will focus on natural science (nature study). They were asking for things that pretty much all fit in this umbrella - ants, bees, when will the leaves change colors, why do they change colors, wanting to know more about bats and echolocation, asking questions about the plants they see. I've got an archive of Outdoor Hour Challenge materials from 2010-2017. I went through the files and printed a few challenge grids for September. These are a fun way to give us some activities when outside doing nature study. One, for example, focuses on insects, and has these boxes:

• Turn over a log or rock and look for insects.
• Observe an insect with a magnifying lens and count its legs.
• Visit a pond or creek and look for insects.
• Watch a bee and then eat some honey.
• Find three insects of different colors.
• Observe an ant. Is it carrying something?
• Draw an insect in your nature journal and label its parts. 
• Observe an insect and note its means of camouflage.

Thursday was our next science day, so I grabbed all my kids and outside we went. While our goal was to observe insects or the evidence that insects had been somewhere (ex: holes in a leaf, a spider web), we saw so much more than that. Joseph and Emma joined us outside and did some nature drawing for art. The younger kids' favorite thing was uncovering worms and holding them. Rebekah loved running around and swinging and really did not like the worms. Our insect list for this day:

• bumblebees - watched one gathering nectar from flowers and observed the pollen all over it's hind legs as it flew from flower to flower.
• praying mantis - it was resting on one of our windows. 
• worms - squirming and digging in the dirt.
• ants - climbing on our trees, the fence, and the ground. 
• spiders - sitting still on their webs.

The rest of school was straightforward as always. I'll be honest, our homeschool is a mix of organized curriculum and free form learning. We accomplish our organized learning before lunch. There are math lessons, history lessons, language arts, reading, handwriting, and so on. It doesn't take the entire day, and for the younger elementary kids it doesn't take much more than 60-90 minutes. The rest of the day children are free to engage in their interests. Piano practice, art creation, watching a favorite show, reading books, writing fan fiction, playing with toys, building with different materials, crafting, cooking, baking, making tents and forts, using science materials, researching the answer to questions, and so on. This is educational freedom. My goal is to give them a solid foundation in the basics and then let them explore whatever captures their interest. 

The first round of playdough kits we made.

Friday Joseph didn't have early morning Seminary (scripture study class with other high school teens he goes to from 6am-6:50am Monday through Friday) because his teacher was sick. My body, however, is used to waking up early to take him to class, so I was up shortly after 5am. I decided it was the perfect time to put together some playdough/kinetic sand activity kits I had been gathering items for. Basically, the items in each kit can be used while playing with playdough or kinetic sand. I've seen kits similar to these selling for $30 online. (Look at Doughsiedough on Instagram for great examples of how kids use these kind of kits). I spent $18 on some materials at the dollar store and craft store a few days ago in preparation for making kits. Daniel and Mason woke up early and helped me with the kit making. In this first round of work we made the following kits:

• Robot parts 1 and 2
• Rainbow
• Army Men 1 and 2
• Spooky Fun
• Pirate Treasure
• Bugs
• Farm
• Dinosaurs
• Fall Harvest
• Arctic Days

Playdough robots

The kids have loved them. Every single day, several times a day, they get out playdough and dive into their imaginary worlds.

School was school. Today was a history day. Joseph studied Marie Curie. The rest of the kids do The Good and the Beautiful History 2 with me. Today we learned about some of the dynasties of ancient China and added them to our timeline. We explored calligraphy, the terra cotta army of Emperor Qin, the Great Wall of China, and the Chinese calendar system that was lunar with a solar component to reset it each year.

Saturday I had a lot of errands to do. We also moved Rebekah into the girl bedroom with Emma, now that Makayla is at college. It is so nice to have no crib in our bedroom anymore.

Setting up an army battle with playdough.

Sunday was a quiet day. We took advantage of some cooler weather to go walking at a Japanese garden. The kids enjoyed exploring the pond. They found snails and fish enjoying their watery habitat. In the evening I made a couple double batches of playdough in colors we didn't have. I made green, red, and black and added glitter and essential oils to each one for scented dough.

The rainbow playdough kit.

Monday is a day for beginnings. We began another school week in a very uneventful way - math lessons. The kids worked steadily through each subject. Daddy helped teach a few lessons. Writing assignments today were making a notebook entry into nature journals (we do these on loose-leaf paper instead of in bound journals). In the afternoon Mason and I loaded up to go for a brace fitting. Four hours and 15 minutes later we arrived home. It was a long appointment, lots of adjustments to brand new braces, and I am sure there will be more adjustments ahead. We will try using these braces in physical therapy for a bit and see what needs changed.

Tobias enjoying the arctic playdough kit.

We also put together a few more playdough kits - Space, Wild West, and Under the Sea.

Tuesday is our piano lesson day. We do all our school in the morning, working steadily. Rebekah and Tobias play nearby, or sit at the table with an activity to do. Today they used a magnetic dress up doll from Melissa and Doug, looked at books, and used crayons at the table. Mid-morning Emma baked magic cookie bars so they could cool for a treat later in the day. Here is the 'recipe' that we change up every single time we make these:

• 1 bag chocolate chips
• 1 bag other flavor chips (butterscotch, mint, peanut butter, etc)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 cups crumbs for crust (graham cracker, cookie, pretzel, etc)
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix butter, crumbs, and sugar in a bowl. Spread 3/4 of this mix into the bottom of a 13x9 pan for crust. Spread bags of chips over crust. Sprinkle remaining crust mix over chips. Pour sweetened condensed milk over top of it all. Bake for 25 minutes then cool completely. 

Sometimes we change the chip flavors, or the crumbs for the crust, or add coconut or mini marshmallows. Today Emma used chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham cracker crumbs, and pretzel crumbs. 

The opossum relaxing in our trash can.

Wednesday we explored life in Ancient China for history, saw a live opossum in our trash can for some nature study, and enjoyed individual studies as well. Joseph, Emma, and Daniel participated in a talent show at our church youth group. Joseph shared art work, Emma sang Tightrope from The Greatest Showman, and Daniel did some magic tricks. They all came home enthusiastic about a fun evening with their friends.

Thursday's science study for the elementary group was them teaching me all they know about the moon. We will be making a Harvest Moon night walk tomorrow for the full moon, so I was interested to see what all they knew or could teach each other about the moon. Their information was fascinating!

Caleb added frog eyes to this hulk costume to be

a super strong frog that can jump

really high.

We pulled out the dress up bin from the attic and the kids enjoyed that.

Army man Mason.

I also did a quick grocery pick up order today in an effort to free up some of our weekend time to work on some around the house projects.

The Harvest Moon rising.

Friday we studied three religions of Ancient China as part of history. We learned about how each began, core beliefs, and important figures in each. There was a lot of reading and talking about books today. Everyone was also counting down to our night walk with the harvest moon. After bedtime, once the moon had risen enough, we grabbed all the kids out of their beds and headed outside. It was fun, but very buggy.

Saturday was ruled by an alarm that went off every 70 minutes and reminded us to switch the washer and dryer loads. Eight loads later all the bedding for 11 beds was washed, dried, and put back on beds. Phew! That didn't include our regular daily load of laundry.

I did make a quick drive through run to our library to return and pick up books. I love that our library has a drive through lane!

Yarn Doll

Sunday our morning began with church. Once home Caleb decided it was the perfect day to make yarn dolls. Most of the middle and younger boys made yarn dolls. They thought Rebekah should have one too, so we made one for her while she napped.

Rebekah loves her yarn doll!

She loves it!

Right now it is Monday afternoon. We've done school work. The elementary science group started learning about ecosystems, producers, consumers, and decomposers today. We'll study food chains, webs, and take a nature walk this week.

We will meet at the end of this week for Homeschool Book Club. This past month we've read Archimedes and the Door of Science. Because we've finished the book, we decided to start listening to our next book club title today over lunch - Little Men by Louisa May Alcott. This is one of my favorite books. We read this in Book Club in 2011 when I only had 6 children instead of 10: Makayla, Joseph, Emma, Daniel, Oliver, and Caleb. They were ages 10, 7, 6, 4, 2, and 1. Makayla is off to college and none of the other kids remember this book. We decided it was time to revisit this classic.

Fun Fact: Our first homeschool book club meeting was held on March 3, 2010. I have records of most of the books we've read in book club since that first meeting.

 I had an appointment with a new endocrinologist (I have hypothyroidism) and have a host of bloodwork and tests to do this week to evaluate some things. My husband Jason has enjoyed his 7 week summer break and started a new college class today online - Hot Spot: Pakistan. It's one of 3 classes he needs to finish his general associate's degree.

September is slipping by quickly and I am just trying to soak up and enjoy every moment with my family. I love being a mom!