Homeschooling

Science Observation: Bird’s Nest Day 6

~ Tonya ~ 3 Comments

The bird known as Gazelle had her agent contact me late yesterday afternoon. She complained that her client’s reputation as a Dark-Eyed Junco, and image as a beautiful, multidimensional creature were seriously jeopardized by the release of my “completely unacceptable and unauthorized photographs”. She called my photos shabby, grainy and insulting to the very nature of the Dark-Eyed Junco. She informed me that Gazelle would be more than happy to come in studio to sit for a few portraits if I would treat her with the consideration and care a bird of her elevated neighborhood status deserved. Terms were reached. Gazelle proved to be a most accommodating model. Continue reading →

Cherry Blossoms

~ Tonya ~ Leave a comment

Spring came early in the Pacific Northwest this year. The flowering cherry trees were all confused by the unseasonably warm, dry February we had and bloomed wicked early. As a bonus gift from this premature Spring, I received the blessing of seasonal allergies. It’s the first time in my life I’ve been stuffy, red-eyed and generally annoyed over the coming of Spring. Uncool. Beautiful trees are not a sufficient trade off. Continue reading →

Trick or Treat Math

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If given a choice of location on the day after Halloween, the absolute last place I would choose would be in a classroom teaching 30 kids. I give teachers mad props all the time for wrangling that many kids, but the day after a holiday that’s all about candy must just be the absolute edge of controlled chaos. Managing my own sugar-high mini-monsters is always tricky and there’s only two of them. I don’t know how teachers accomplish anything with an entire class of over-hyper rugrats. Lucky them Halloween is on a Friday this year!

Graphing Candy

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Bending A Straw With Light

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One of our very first experiments was exploring one of the characteristics of light. Our Classical Conversations science memory work this week was “What are three characteristics of light?”. One of the terms we covered was refraction. Which is exactly what this super easy experiment demonstrates — you probably have all the necessary items in your house already.

You only need:
A straw (or pencil)
A clear glass
Water
Full printable instructions and simple refraction explanation: Bending a Straw With Light
or here: Pencil Refraction Continue reading →

Water Filtration Experiment

~ Tonya ~ 2 Comments

Ahh The Water Cycle. Always a fun time to do a little hands on science. We decided to talk about filtration and how dirty water ends up clean. Another easy experiment that you probably have all the supplies for. At least, if you drink coffee. Which, I do now. I know. I’m really maturing nicely.

First we needed some dirty water. So we dumped some dirt from the yard into a flower vase filled 2/3 with water. Red solo cup! We’re ready to party!Water Pollution Experiment02

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Our Great Big 50 States Adventure – Part One

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There are three cycles of information spanning Ancient History to Modern in Classical Conversations. This upcoming year (cycle 3) the focus is on US History and Geography. We’ll be memorizing the states and capitols, as well as geographical features and historical timeline events.

As we hone in on the United States next year, I thought it would be exciting and enriching to see what stories and facts I could get regarding each state, from people who actually live there. So, I’ve set upon a great adventure to collect information in the form of mail (good mail…the kind with a stamp on it) for my kids. Mail is just flat out fun. Bonus: I got to sign my name 100 times. I love signing my name.



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Monet Style Garden Paintings

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During our six weeks of great artists this year, we studied impressionism and specifically talked about Monet. I found a fantastic tutorial on Mr. Picasso’s Art Room and used it to create masterpieces and memories.

Monet Style Garden Paintings

First let me tell you that I am NOT an artsy person. I’ve told the story before of how I went into Michael’s and purchased $100s of dollars of canvases, paints, and paintbrushes thinking I would be the next Michelangelo with all those supplies. Ha! Let’s just say all that crap my art supplies have never been used. Until now. Mr. Picasso must be some kind of genius in the way “he” structures things, because even I figured out how to create art using his tutorial. Here are our finished products. We had a jolly good time and really experienced impressionism. Continue reading →