Month One

We are in full swing now with school. It's going better than I ever imagined, and I find confirmation of our decision to homeschool every day. There are still adjustment issues, of course, but I expect that those will work themselves out with time.

After a slight revision, I have decided on Biomes for our first science topic. I thought that animals and Biomes would be best, since Sarah loves animals, but that was way too disorganized for both of us. We'll do the Biomes first, and then move on the the animals after we've researched the major areas they live. We have visited a brook, a wetland and grasslands so far. Of course, we hike a lot so we've been to the woods, but not with the purpose of doing any real investigation. We'll just have to go back again!

History is much more interesting to Sarah AND Danny than I ever imagined. We are using The Story of the World curriculum lent to me by a good friend, and it's just so cool! The lessons are just long enough to give some detail, but not long enough to bore my children so much that they stop listening. The added benefit is my personal learning...I don't remember anything from World History, so our Ancient History curriculum is nearly as new to me as it is to them. It's really hard sometimes to stay on a child's level when it's so interesting!

Our visit to the Honda Wetlands Education Center at Glacier Ridge Metropark.

Turning over rocks in the brook at Scioto Park to see who might be living under them.

Sarah and Dan both loved making "cave" drawings while learning about the earliest people. I have 6 of these things and they won't let me throw them away!

Riding the camel at COSI in the Egypt exhibit. They were also able to try to build a pyramid, pull the blocks for the pyramid using a simple machine, walk through a "tomb" chamber, see real mummies, a sarcophagus, canopic jars, and other artifacts on loan from museums. (The camel was probably their favorite...)