School Summary - Mid-Atlantic Colonies and European Monarchs

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A Summary of October 3-17
How did we get to the end of the first semester? We don't keep report cards but I try to go through all the worksheets and papers after every nine weeks to update the younglings' portfolios. Looking at the completed logs, I was just amazed by how quickly we got to this point of our year.
Here's what we did:

Things that were scheduled:

Math

Language Arts (Grammar, Reading, and Writing)

Tenor finished Island of the Blue Dolphins with a couple of activities. He'll start his next reading comprehension book next week.

Electives:

Typing, Greek (Tenor), Spanish (Tenor), Home Ec (Soprano)

My Father's World Exploration to 1850

These two weeks we talked about more of the American colonies' beginnings as well as how the countries in Europe were doing at the same time.

Bible: This year we're doing an in-depth study of the book of James and attempting to memorize the entire book. We finished chapter 1. They've been more consistent about reviewing previous verses so they're on track.

Science: We learned about amphibians, reptiles, snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles using AIG's The World of Animals. 

We acted out what we might be doing in various temperatures if we were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. They drew amphibian life cycles and we started growing our frog (from Home Science Tools). 

They also got on the floor and slithered in various ways like snakes.

Rather than paint a picture showing an animal using camouflage, I printed some images for the younglings to color.

Soprano on the left; Tenor on the right

History: We learned about Virginia in their post-Jamestown years and talked about education in the colonies. We made our own New England Primers.

Then we read about Louis XIV and his extravagant reign. We made Louis inspired Venetian masquerade masks.

Tenor on the left; Soprano on the right.

Then we turned west to Frederick of Prussia. Frederick was interesting in how he worked to unite the German people into German people, not merely citizens of the various German states.

The following week we talked about King Philip's War (between the colonists and Indians and which I had never had even heard about before) and other conflicts with the Native Americans. Then we hit our home "colony" of Pennsylvania and William Penn's holy experiment. We usually do the optional work so we read about the Delaware colony too.

I added in some map work from Story of the World (Prussian States). I also added a timeline piece from Homeschool in the Woods (William Penn).

Other MFW: 

Music: We listened to Bach's biography and added in the chapter about him from The Young Scholar's Guide to Composers and Meet the Great Composers. We also started listening to Mendelssohn's biography. We continued learning "Now Thank We All Our God" and then spent a week reading about some of Isaac Watts' 600 hymns. I play the piano so we read about each day's assigned hymn and then sang them together.

Art: Drawing lessons including some on self-portraits and noses.

Extras:

Web:

You can see them all in my Youtube playlist for weeks 1-14.
Poison Dart Frogs at Answers in Genesis
Hognose Snake at Answers in Genesis
Rattlesnake's at Answers in Genesis
Snake's Alive at Answers in Genesis
Pythons at Answers in Genesis
Alligators at Answers in Genesis

Horned Toad Lizards at Answers in Genesis

Auggie the Alligator at Answers in Genesis 

William Penn

Philadelphia

Videos:

Bach's Fight for Freedom by Devine Entertainment
Colonial Life for Children: William Penn and Pennsylvania by Schlessinger Media

Gators & Dragons and Other Wild Beasts by Hearst Communications

Growing Up Wild: Amazing Baby Animals by Time Life

Favorite Books: 

Ask Dr. K About Reptiles by Claire Llewellyn
Frogs by Gail Gibbons
Frogs by Nic Bishop
Hip Pocket Papa by Sandra Markle
Hop Frog by Rick Chrustowski
All About Alligators by Jim Arnosky
All About Turtles by Jim Arnosky
Can You Tell an Alligator From a Crocodile? by Buffy Silverman
One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
The King's Day: Louis XIV of France by Aliki
Ten Kings and the Worlds They Ruled by Milton Meltzer (chapter on Louis XIV)
The Story of William Penn by Aliki

Make a Card Monday - Lighthouse

Here's another throwback card from my demo days. I used chalks to color the background of the image and the area under the lighthouse.

Details:
cardstock: blue and dark brown (DCWV), rust (unknown), white (Georgia Pacific)
embellishments: brads (unknown)
color: Noir, Prussian Blue, Moulin Rouge ink (Palette) colored pencils (Prismacolor), chalks (Pebbles Inc.)
tools: page distresser (Heidi Swapp)
stamps: Light the Path (The Angel Company)

Make a Card Monday - Fanciful Flowers

This is another long-lost card from my tin. Like last week's card, it features TAC's Fanciful Flowers stamp set. I used the second generation stamping technique to create a large pattern which I cut into the smaller focal circles. I used Versamark to create backgrounds above (using the flower stem) and below (using Crackle) the ribbon.

Details:
cardstock: dark and light pink (unknown), cream (unknown)
embellishments: ribbon (unknown)
color: Landscape, Boudoir Blush ink (Palette), Versamark ink
tools: circle patterns (Creative Memories)
stamps: Fanciful Flowers, Crackle Background (The Angel Company)

School Summary - Birds, Fish, and Colonies

I respectfully ask that you not pin pictures of my children to Pinterest. Thank you!

A Summary of September 22-October 3
We're back to full weeks of school after our Virginia trip. It was a little hard to dive into a full week of work after such a busy trip but we made it through.
Here's what we did:

Things that were scheduled:

Math

Language Arts (Grammar, Reading, and Writing)

Electives:

Typing, Greek (Tenor), Spanish (Tenor), Home Ec (Soprano)

Same old, same old. Nothing new or exciting in any of these subjects. The younglings have been diligent with getting their assignments done each day which is a huge blessing. They also fit in some Phys. Ed. each day either TaeKwonDo once a week, FitDeck Junior cards, or exercising with me. I started Beachbody's T25 Alpha after vacation. It hurts. :)

My Father's World Exploration to 1850

We're moving along studying how each of the original colonies got their start. We talked about the New York, Carolina, and Maryland Colonies these weeks.

Bible: This year we're doing an in-depth study of the book of James and attempting to memorize the entire book. We're up to verse 18 of chapter 1. We seem to have a pattern of nailing the earlier verses and then having trouble with the current week's verses. I'm trying to get them to do more review on their own but I'm not sure they're following through.

Science: We learned about birds and fish using AIG's The World of Animals. The younglings made a bird's nest using found items from outside. I think they went a little light on the sticks and twigs and a little heavy on the mud.

Maybe we should have made the edible version instead?

We also dissected owl pellets. I ordered two from Home Science Tools at the beginning of the year. Then they found one in our backyard! (Which is extremely surprising because we live in a suburban neighborhood on a cul-de-sac near two major highways... the variety of birds and animals we have in our backyard makes me feel like Snow White when I'm out there hanging laundry to dry. Of course, none of those critters every help me with the chores...)

The found pellet is at the top. No worries... Bass tackled that one and everyone wore gloves!

Somewhat large section of vertebrae

skull and jaw pieces

We also examined various bird feathers (found in the backyard and in Virginia).

And we completed some worksheets on birds...

Soprano's: The one on the left I created; the one on the right came with the MFW Student Sheets.

Tenor's

Then we learned all about fish.

History: We learned about Peter "Silver Leg" Stuyvesant and the colony of New York. Considering the information they had about how Jamestown and Plymouth were started/governed, you think they would have made better decisions. At least they tried to pay the Native Americans for the land from the beginning. We played the Dutch game of Ninepins (using empty water bottles).

We read about how tobacco was what kept the Virginia colony afloat and became the backbone of its wealth. We heard a lot of that when we were in Virginia so this week's info was great to build on what we had already learned.
Then we read about Queen Nzinga of Angola and what became the start of the slave trade in North America.

The following week, we crossed the pond to catch up on the Thirty Years' War in Europe and the Puritan take-over of the English throne.

Then back to the colonies to learn about the Carolinas and Maryland. We're not too far from the Maryland border so little lightbulbs kept going off for me as we read about its history. All the names of the people involved in its founding are names of towns/counties/locations in Maryland that I'm familiar with.

I added in some map work from MapTrek (Protestant and Catholic Europe) and Story of the World (Triangular Trade Route). I also added two timeline pieces from Homeschool in the Woods (Peter Stuyvesant and 30 Years' War).

Other MFW: 

Music: We listened to several selections by Franz Schubert and then spent a week reviewing Antonio Vivaldi and Baroque Music. We continued learning "The Lord's My Shepherd" and introduced "Now Thank We All Our God".

Art: To coincide with our history studies about New York and the Dutch, we spent time on Rembrandt. Lots of pen and ink drawing and practicing lines.

Extras:

Web:

You can see them all in my Youtube playlist for weeks 1-14.
Owls at Answers in Genesis
Designed for Flight at Answers in Genesis
Eurasian Owl at Answers in Genesis
Buzz the Vulture at Answers in Genesis
Archer Fish at Answers in Genesis
Sea Creatures
Birds 
Hummingbirds
Rembrandt Etchings

Videos:

Colonial Life for Children: The Dutch and New Amsterdam by Schlessinger Media

Eyewitness: Bird by Dorling Kindersley
Eyewitness: Fish by Dorling Kindersley
Ocean Creatures by Live Oak Media

Favorite Books: 

All About Turkeys by Jim Arnosky
Blue Sky Bluebird by Rick Chrustowski
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends by Opal Wheeler
It's Hummingbird's Life by Irene Kelley
On the Day Peter Stuyvesant Sailed Into Town by Arnold Lobel
The Robins in Your Backyard by Nancy Carol Willis
What Bluebirds Do by Pamela Kirby
My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki
Seahorse by Robert Morris
Sharks by Gail Gibbons (one brief reference to evolution)

Fall Means Change

I made some changes in the living room. There wasn't anything wrong with the art that we had but the mirror was feeling very heavy and dark over the fireplace, and the art I had on the opposite wall above the piano never really coordinated.

2012's fall mantel

The previous piano arrangement

So the art went into storage, the mirror shifted to above the piano, and we found a cheap window frame at our local Habitat ReStore (on sale, too!)

Bass did some heavy lifting and moving and hung the mirror above the piano. The window frame needs special hardware so for now it's just propped against the wall. After some putty and paint, here's how it looks for fall.

This little pumpkin got a coat of a very light yellow-green spray paint because bright orange plastic just wasn't working.

By the front door

The side table

The dining room buffet

I saw this pretty porch on Pinterest and loved her idea to use hydrangeas with the pumpkins. I have a whole row of Limelight Hydrangeas in the backyard so for a few dollars for our pumpkins and a few minutes with the garden clippers, I have my own version. The hydrangeas are slowly drying to a pretty brown color.

 

Happy Fall!

Make a Card Monday - Be Happy Daisy

I think I borrowed this layout from a Stampin' Up catalog ages ago. The navy keeps it from being too super sweet. I filed it in my 'blank card' section because I think it could be used for lots of different occasions.

Details:
cardstock: green (DCWV), navy and yellow (unknown) white (Georgia Pacific)
embellishments: ribbon (unknown)
color: Paris Lights, Sunflower, Landscape, Prussian Blue ink (Palette)
tools: Notch and Die Tool (Basic Grey), hole punch
stamps: Be (sentiment) and Fanciful Flowers (flower) (The Angel Company)

School Summary - Daniel Boone Homestead Field Trip

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The Boone House

For this year's Smithsonian Museum Day, we decided to visit the Daniel Boone Homestead. We aren't quite up to Daniel Boone in our history studies but of the participating museums, this was the closest that is something that we'll be learning about later this school year.
The weather was gorgeous to walk the grounds and see the various buildings.
After a week in Virginia, the Daniel Boone Homestead was a little less exciting than Colonial Williamsburg but it was an easy trip. If you go, you only need a couple hours to see everything.

A small family garden by the farmhouse.

The farmhouse kitchen

The opposite wall in the farmhouse kitchen.

The farmhouse dining area

 

 

Checking out a weaving loom

Looking up the hill to the bank barn

We didn't pay for the guided tour so we just used the map from the Visitor's Center to fill us in.

The Blacksmith shop/forge

 

 

The Blacksmith Shop

They had sheep in the barn!

The flax-to-cloth process

The Bertolet House and Smokehouse

The Bertolet Smokehouse

The Bertolet Smokehouse

The Bertolet Sawmill

Daniel Boone Lake

The DeTurk Cemetary