WELCOME! I used this blog to share our family's homeschooling thoughts and experiences. Our oldest child, EL, finished her formal education in May 2017, and we graduated our son, JJ, from High School in May 2021. I will leave this blog up for anyone who wishes to read our curriculum reviews or see what types of field trips and/or activities we participated in.
In the middle of May, we noticed three barn swallows flying around our back yard, sometimes landing on a nail attached to our porch overhang, and sometimes fighting with each other. My guess is they were either fighting over their territory, or maybe two males were fighting over the female. Either way, eventually, there were only two swallows left, and then the couple began building their nest around the nail. It was interesting to see how they worked together as a couple, building a home to raise their family in, then taking turns feeding their babies, watching over them, and finally teaching them how to fly. Take a look at the photos and videos below to see the progression.
The top left photo was taken on May 12th. Below that is May 13th, then May 14th. The other side is May 15th, 16th, and 17th.
May 16th - Our cat, Sofie, was also watching the birds build their nest.
Top left was taken on May 18th. Below that is May 20th, and you can see
the mama's head poking up out of the nest in that one. Then, the one on the right
was taken on May 22nd as the mama was pulling feathers out of her rear end
and lining the nest with them.
The papa was keeping watch nearby as mama began laying her eggs in the nest.
In the short video below, you can see Papa Swallow taking a shower in the rain while the mama sits on the eggs in the nest. If you listen closely, you can hear a Matt Redman CD playing in the background with the song, "Oh no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm." That did not happen intentionally but turned out to be appropriate, considering the mild thunderstorm.
May 29th - Five small speckled eggs were seen in the nest.
May 29th - Mama is nesting the eggs.
June 11th - Two or three of the babies, newly hatched
In this video, the parents did not like me being outside so close to their babies, so they started dive-bombing me to scare me away.
June 20th - Another look at the 3 babies as they sleep.
June 20th - The babies are awake, and poking their heads over the side.
This video was taken by my husband, David. We were watching the birds through an open window, and the parents started freaking out at our presence.
June 25th - All three babies sitting on the edge waiting to be fed.
June 27th - Almost fully grown. One of the babies had
already taken flight at this point, was out flying around during the
daytime, then came back to the nest in the late afternoon.
This video was taken with only 2 of the babies in their nest. They were testing their wings. The next day, the one on the left was also out flying during the morning hours, leaving only one bird left in the nest.
June 30th - In this photo, two of the babies were out flying during the morning hours, and one of the parents was still flying around, watching over the third baby. It seemed as if the entire family was working together at this point, trying to encourage the last baby to spread his wings and take flight.
June 30th - The final baby, still a bit too timid to try flying.
July 1st - The first two babies left the nest and landed on the top of our ladder, waiting for the third baby to finally take flight.
July 3rd - The final baby finally flew out and we were left with an empty nest.
It was fun watching the entire process from start to finish, and seeing how the parents worked together to raise their family; and it even seemed like the siblings were encouraging each other as they were growing up and heading out into the big world - the example of a close-knit family.
We occasionally see one or two swallows still flying around the nest, or stopping by for a visit, but they don't stay in it overnight. I have a feeling they will return in the Spring, so we have decided to leave the nest alone and wait to see what happens. I look forward to watching as they raise another swallow family.
At the end of May, we finished our 2016-2017 school year, and that means our daughter, EL, completed 4 years of High School and, therefore, "graduated" from SONset Academy. Her special learning needs kept her from being able to complete high school level work so, after consulting with HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association), we felt it was best to give EL a Certificate of Completion rather than a Diploma. She will not be attending college, so a diploma is not really necessary for her anyway. But, regardless of what type of certification she has received, we are very proud of her accomplishments.
Our son, JJ, also graduated this year - from 8th grade. So, this past Sunday, we finally had a small graduation celebration for both of them. (It has been a busy Summer, so this was the best time to schedule the party, even though they technically graduated at the end of May.)
David/Dad/Principal - Signing the graduation certificates
We had a casual, simple ceremony in our garage. To start things off, Aunt Jackie played "Pomp and Circumstance" on her flute as the graduates walked out of the house and into the garage where family and friends were waiting.
David gave a short message/word of encouragement to the graduates, as well as to the rest of us in attendance.
JJ received his 8th grade diploma
EL received her Certificate of Completion.
After the ceremony, we had a simple reception: A decorated cake, Veggies and Dip, Trail Mix, Goldfish Crackers, Cherry Candies, and drinks. The colors were red, white and blue. Decorations came from Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Walmart's clearance section.
Family photo with the graduates.
It was a nice day. Now, we begin High School with JJ!
Here it is, the end of Summer 2017, and I am just now getting around to posting about the field trip we took in May. I don't really have any excuses. Life has just been busy and blogging here hasn't been a priority. But, I'm hoping to get back into it as we finish up the Summer and get back into a new school year.
On May 23rd, we took a field trip to a farm where they train horses, then also to a 4-H sheep farm. Here are a few pictures, followed by a short report from each of the kids.
A horse in the ring
JJ riding a horse (EL did not want to ride)
JJ Petting a horse
Shearing a sheep
FIELD TRIP REPORT FROM JJ
WHAT I LEARNED: It takes a horse a long time to have a baby. For a human, it takes 9 months. A horse takes 11 months. It takes a sheep 5 months. A horse gets freaked out when he goes to a new horse farm. It is just like when a kid transfers to another school - they don't like it. I learned that sheep want to die every day but, if you care for them, they will live longer. A sheep gets shaved once every year.
WHAT I LIKED: I loved riding on the horse!!! And, I liked watching the sheep get shaved. I liked playing with the dog and cat. I liked mostly the whole day.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I did not like the dust. Other than that, nothing really. Like I said, I liked the whole day.
FIELD TRIP REPORT FROM EL
WHAT I LEARNED: A horse has white legs. The horse is big and brown. The mule runs fast with 4 long legs. The mule has long ears. The mule has a tail like a horse. It's a mule tail. I saw a black horse and some white horses. And, I also saw a black and white horse. I pet the horse. Horses make sounds. I saw a girl riding a mule. I saw a saddle on the mule's back. I saw a black and brown cat. The cat meowed. I just watched the kids ride on the mule. I saw a gray and white cat. I pet the cat. The cat says hi. WHAT I LIKED: I like the black sheep, just like the song. I saw a little white lamb named Sunny. Don't forget the ram with horns. I saw 2 dogs, a gray and brown dog, and a black and white dog. The dog sniffed my hand. I pet the dog.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I didn't like the loud noise of the man shearing the sheep. The sheep makes a loud baaaing sound.
Earlier this month, our family helped with our church's Vacation Bible School program by doing the puppet shows. This year's theme was"To the Edge - Encounter the God of the Universe." It was hard work and really gave our arms a work-out, but it was a lot of fun, too!
The puppet scripts came with two introductions, two scripts for each day of the week, and two closing scripts. You could choose to use only the scripts with Astro the monkey, or only the scripts with the entire flight crew, or use them all. We used them all. Astro's talk was done during the opening of each day, and the flight crew scene was done during the closing of each day. Astro's talk was shorter, and the kids really love it when the puppets sing a song, so we added a short song at the end of each morning session with Astro. (If you want to know the name of the songs we used, you will see them listed in the information section under each video on You Tube).
We didn't get ALL of the puppet shows recorded, but here are the videos of the ones we did get...
At the beginning of July, the kids attended a Puppet Boot Camp at a nearby church. They really enjoyed learning more about the craft of puppetry.
JJ received 3rd place in the Junior division for his lip syncing skills.
EL was excited that her name was drawn to WIN a puppet! This picture is blurry, but you get the idea. We will definitely be using this puppet in a future performance at church.
The kids each made a puppet out of a hat. Here's EL with her puppet.
JJ with his puppet
Here is a video of the Hat Performance, done under blacklight:
This week, the kids had 3 days of a Social Skills Science Camp. It was interesting! It is geared for kids with special needs and their siblings. They learned about 3 different body systems while practicing the social skills of taking turns, cooperating, and learning about hygiene and good manners. It was a good class and I'm glad we were able to take part in it.
Day 1, we learned about the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM:
The instructor is teaching about the different parts of the Digestive System.
Using stethoscopes to listen to intestinal gurgling sounds called peristalsis.
They made "vomit" by mixing together 2 crackers, 1/2 banana, shredded carrots, baking soda, and vinegar to simulate what happens to food inside the stomach.
It literally looks like vomit. Ewww.
They blew up balloons and let them go to simulate the sounds of flatulence. Ha ha! They had such fun with this.
Pushing thick oatmeal through a panty hose leg to simulate food being pushed through the small intestines.
Day 2, I didn't get too many pictures, but we learned about the CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. They made the different parts of blood, listened to heart beats, and learned about veins and arteries.
Here, they put celery into a glass of food coloring and left it there for a couple of days to see how veins work.
On the last day, they learned about the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM:
They made "snot." Their faces tell the story on this one.
They went outside to drop Mentos into a bottle of diet Coke to simulate how pressure builds up before we sneeze. A sneeze can travel up to 100 miles per hour!
They used balloons and a water bottle to show how our diaphragm helps our lungs work.
and, they blew through straws into water bottles to show lung capacity. Some of them got their faces very wet. Hee hee.
Last week, our church had Vacation Bible School every morning from 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Our family was thrilled to be able to help out this year with our puppet ministry. It was a lot of work, and very tiring, but also a lot of fun.
This year's theme was Jungle Safari. The curriculum did not have any puppet scripts to use for the opening session, so we searched online to find skits and songs that would match each day's lesson.
Day 1 - God is Our Creator (Covers the 7 Days of Creation)
Day 2 - God is Our Provider (God's provision for Elijah)
Day 3 - God is our Protector (Daniel in the Lion's Den)
Day 4 - God is our Savior (Salvation story with Toadly the frog)
Day 5 - God is our King (music about serving our King)
In order below, you will find the 5 puppet acts we did.
If you are interested in knowing where we found our scripts and songs, please leave a comment, or contact me via e-mail.
Summer is over, and we start back to school tomorrow morning. I have mixed feelings about starting back. Part of me is excited about getting back into a routine and learning new things with the kids. Another part is nervous about how well things will go as far as attitudes and cooperation. Plus, we have some new curriculum choices this year. But, we will start out slow with just the basics, then gradually increase our subjects. We will see how things go, and adjust accordingly.
For our vacation this year, we did not get the chance to attend a Renaissance Fair, like I previously mentioned we had wanted to do. (Maybe we can head to a Medieval Times dinner theater later this year.) We did, however, head to my husband's home town where we went to the county fair. It had been YEARS since we had been back to the fair there. My husband had a great time reliving old memories, and making new ones with our kids.
