Day 1 of Exploring Countries & Cultures

Today was our first day of using Exploring Countries & Cultures from My Father's World. It went well for the most part. Coyote had a little trouble with all the extra stuff we did today, compared to last week when we only did Lanugage Arts, Music, and Sign Language. But, I think it will work out just fine, once he knows what to expect.

Today, we were introduced to ecosystems for Science (using Properties of Ecosystems from Answers in Genesis). We learned some new words, such as habitat, biotic, abiotic, fauna & flora.

For History and Geography, we learned about maps, how they got their beginning, and how they have changed over the years. When we took a snack break, I made a "map" of the inside of our house, and gave the kids a trail to follow to the X where they would find their snack. They had fun with that. We also learned that the world is NOT flat like a pancake. It is round, like a ball. So, Coyote came up with the fun idea to have pancakes for lunch today.

As for the green tomato worm we have been watching.... Last night, after we arrived back home from a "Back to School" party for our local homeschool group, the kids looked at the jar (now sitting outside on our picnic table) and noticed the worm had emerged from its cocoon. At first, it sort of had the look of a big bee with very short wings. However, as time went on, the wings unravelled and began to dry out.

This morning, we released the moth (known as a Hawk Moth) and it  sat on our picnic table all day. Finally, this evening, David and Coyote saw it take off in flight. Bye bye, hawk moth. Good riddance... ummm, I mean, good luck.....

 

First Day of New School Year

We were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun and educational time as we visited The Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY; got a tour of an airplane at Lunken Municipal Airport in Cincinnati, OH; and visited the Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY. We also visited with family and friends, and celebrated Road Runner's 12th birthday!

Now, we are home and finally ready to start school. I was originally going to start on Monday, but David so wisely suggested that we wait until Wednesday (today) so we could ease back into it slowly. I was getting over a nasty head cold on Monday, so that didn't bother me one bit!

So, here is a picture I took for our first day back to school....

As you can tell by the picture, the kids weren't exactly thrilled with starting school again. But, they were cooperative for the most part, and we did have a good first day. It'll just take a few days to get back into a routine. We did not start the My Father's World curriculum yet, but will start that next Monday. Today, we did Language Arts, Music, and Sign Language. We are using new material for all of those subjects this year and, so far, I really like them. I'll list everything later on in a separate blog entry, but I really think its going to be a good year!

To update you on the green tomato worm, he formed a cocoon while we were gone on vacation and has been laying on the bottom of the jar for a couple of weeks. Not sure when he is going to emerge. Only time will tell....

Meet the Class

It's my first entry on SONset Academy! We haven't officially started back to school yet (my plan is to begin on August 23rd), but let me introduce you to our class:

My husband, David, is our Principal. He brings wisdom and insight to our school, as well as emotional support on my part. He loves his children and desires to be a part of their lives. I know I would have a hard time schooling the children without his help.

You've already seen a picture of me on the main blog page, so I won't include another. But, I am Victoria. This will be our 6th year of homeschooling. I have learned alot over the years, and still have a long way to go. But, it has mostly been fun teaching our kids and I'm so glad to have the opportunity to do it.

Our daughter, Road Runner, is 12. She loves animals of all kinds, but especially dogs and birds (Road

Runners are a personal favorite of hers). She also enjoys drawing and cutting out pictures, reading books, and watching movies. Her autism brings some special learning needs with it, but she is smart and understands a lot more than I think most of us realize. She has really "blossomed" a lot this past year, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future has in store. It is a blessing to have her for a daughter.

Coyote is 7. He also loves animals, likes to write stories, and is getting especially good at drawing. He is an active boy with an interest in super heroes, science fiction movies, and finding critters in the yard. A mild case of Tourettes Syndrome has caused him some struggles, but he is working through them. He is a joy to have around - funny, sweet, and a best friend and teacher to Road Runner. I am so glad he is a part of our lives. 

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Speaking of critters, I recently purchased a book called "Pets in a Jar" by Seymore Simon and, yesterday, we decided to use it for the first time.  David's parents were here and "Dad" found a large green worm eating the leaves off my tomato plants. The first one, he just stomped on to get rid of it. Then, he took Coyote out to see if they could find another one. They did. Coyote brought it inside to me, while it was still hanging onto a leaf branch. At first, I wanted it OUT of my house. But, then, I remembered the book I bought and figured this might be a good opportunity to watch the worm and learn from it. So, now we have "Claws" (Coyote named him) sitting in a jar in our family room. Coyote reminded me this morning that we needed to go get fresh leaves for Claws so he would have plenty to eat. If you look closely at the jar, you can see him laying on the bottom. It will be interesting to learn more about him, watch him form a cocoon, and hopefully emerge as a moth of some sort. We'll see what happens....