Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Rocks, rocks and more rocks.....

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Who knew that rocks and minerals could be so interesting.
The kids have been doing experiments on a whole heap of different rocks and minerals over the last few weeks.

Ciara figured out the minerals in different toothpastes that were most effective for cleaning stains off teeth..


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We grew crystals with our "Magic Rocks" kit...(didn't you always wanted one of those sets as a kid???)

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And we looked at rock samples to determine whether they were igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic.

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I will never look upon your humble garden variety rock in quite the same way after all this.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

County Fair

Friday we took a field trip to the County Fair with our homeschool group. Lots to see and do.
First off a visit to see the animals. The kids were nervous about turning their backs on these huge bulls. This was as close as I could get them to stand to the bulls and then they gave me a 2 second window to snap this picture before they took off.


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The boys were a lot braver around the mechanical bull

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Looking like true cowboys...

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The sheep were a little less intimidating...

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As were the horses...

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Of course there is the obligatory silly picture...(really Mum... do we have to???...this is SO embarrassing)

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A few rides....

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And a fake tattoo rounded out the day beautifully.

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What a fun way to spend a Friday!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Homeschool week 1

So we made it through our first few weeks of homeschool. So far so good. We have been getting through our workload and having some fun too. Here's a bit of a glimpse of what we have been up to.

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Field trip to a Rock Ranch. This was organized through a homeschool group we are part of. It's fun to be able to go on these trips with a group of other families...its fun and social...as well as a learning experience.

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The kids got to dig up a variety of rocks and minerals....quartz, mica, obsidian...you name it. They had a blast sorting through them and trying to identify each one.

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They used their rocks and minerals in some experiments. This one is part of a series of tests they did to determine the density of different minerals. They learned how to use a triple balance beam which seemed to be the highlight...at least for Jack.

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We cracked open some geodes and studied the crystal forms inside. Jack was a bit of a crazy man with the hammer. His first geode ended up as a powdered mess on the pavement. He managed to refine his hammering enthusiasm with his subsequent geodes.

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For history we learned about the fall of Rome and the Barbarian invasions. We talked about the Anglo Saxons and read a version of Beowulf which inspired the kids to make their own double sided medieval axe and battle each other in the front yard.

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For art we made some clay pots....

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And our teenaged next door neighbor provided a music lesson for the boys

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So all this plus math and language arts made our first couple of weeks a success. All we need now is to move into our homeschool room so we can have a little more space.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Summer Update

Life has been a little busy around here lately so there is lots to blog about. Here is a quick overview of what's been happening here.
Friends arriving out of the blue! A wonderful childhood friend flew all the way from Australia to surprise me for my birthday.

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This was aided and abetted by all these terrific people I call neighbors AND friends . They were all so good at keeping her arrival a secret that I think they may have had some kind of CIA spy training at some point in their lives!

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In the midst of all this excitement I turned 40. So far it feels a lot like 39 so I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.

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And I was spoiled by some of my Aussie girlfriends who sent me some gorgeous jewelry! A beautiful necklace..( you can see on me here)...and earrings (which I am wearing too but are covered up by my low key hat).

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This lingerie item that I am displaying was a gift from my ever thoughtful husband!

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My friend Dana also turned 40...she is certainly aging a lot more gracefully than I am!

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On the home front...the renos are nearly finished.

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We won't be ready for the start of the school year...{boohoo}...but hopefully it will only take a week or 2 to finish off.

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We undertook our annual pilgrimage to the local themepark where the kids spent the day enjoying the rides...

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This one completely cracks me up!

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And of course football season has started....

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and so has soccer....

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So that brings you up to date...phew!
I feel like I have a bit of a blog sweat up :-)