Back to School 2012!

Morgan, age 5 (birthday 1/22/07) First Grade 2012-2013 school year

 

Jaden, age 8 (birthday 8/5/04) Third Grade 2012-2013 school year

 

I had to photograph the girls for their Friday School badges, and this is what I got.  Though we do home school all year long, many activities are only available to us during the school year.  We are starting back in all of the school activities.

 

Friday School starts on September 21st, and will be every Friday until the end of November.  Morgan will be taking kindergarten classes there with her friends.  Jaden will be taking Character Traits class, Team Building, and Alphabet Arts.  Their classes were very picked over by the time we got to pick because we took a 2 year break from the cooperative.  Next semester, they will have more choices. 

 

GEMS girls' club starts back up this coming Wednesday.  Morgan is still not old enough to attend, but Jaden will be a part of the group.  She is very excited for it to start,

 

AWANA starts back on September 10th.  Jaden will be in Truth and Training and Morgan will be in Sparkies.  They are both a little anxious to start because their friends will be in the groups younger than them.  Most of Jaden's friends will still be Sparkies and Morgan's friends will still be Cubbies.

 

We are ready to get started with all of these activities.  Looking at the schedule exhausts me, but it will be fun. 

Love These Faces!

Have you noticed I love taking pictures of my girls?!  I really need to take some photography classes, and get a real camera.  Since I do not have the money for either, I make do with what I have... and I never miss an opportunity for a photo.   I think Jaden and Morgan will appreciate it as they get older, too.  I can't get back this time- I can only enjoy it as it happens and tuck it away as a memory with my photos.  I am soaking up every moment!!

The Secret World of Arrietty

We finally saw the movie that goes with the book we read "The Borrowers".  I had such high hopes for the movie.  In my head I built it up much bigger than it was.  This movie was ok.  There were a couple of funny parts.  Overall, that is it- it was ok.  Many differences were found between the book and movie (or course, that is how it always is).  The biggest disappointment for me was the ending.  It was weird to walk out of the theater feeling as though the story wasn't over.

Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary Event: Part 2- Making Silly Putty

One of the stations the girls went to was a silly putty making station.  Talk about messy!!  Starch and glue- luckily it was all in a ziploc bag! 

Dinosaurs

Jaden and Morgan can both fit into the foot print of a dinosaur!  Wow!

Above, Morgan attempts to put the dinosaur back together

Above shows the size comparison of a dinosaur bone to animals we have today.  Below, Jaden looks through the microscope to discover more interesting dinosaur facts

All about dinosaurs.  This was just a mini exhibit inside the museum.  There were a lot of interesting facts to devour.  My girls aren't big on dinosaurs, so this was the perfect size for us- just enough to learn something but not enough to bore them =)

Careers- Health Care

The nurses weigh the newborn babies to make sure they are gaining weight

Above, Nurse Jaden gets ready for her day in the nursery.  Below, Nurse Morgan arrives at work and heads to the sink to wash her hands.

Above, Nurse Morgan makes sure the X-Ray machine is in working order

EMTs Jaden and Morgan head to an emergeny in their ambulance

Museums are always fun for us.  This museum was no different- so much to see and do! 

Jaden and Morgan LOVE the sections of the museum that offer a look into real life (i.e. mini grocery store, hospital, etc)  Of course, if they have dolls in the exhibit, that is even more exciting!

Jaden and Morgan took care of the babies in the hospital nursery, gave them baths, weighed them, gave them X-Rays, and made sure they were healthy. 

Then, they got into the ambulance to help an injured person far far away.

Cotton- "The Fabric of Our Lives"

Above, Morgan inspects the raw cotton.

speaking of a bale, the above billboard is self-explanatory.  Below, is what one bale of cotton looks like.

Learning around every turn!  This Cotton display was part of the FW Stock Show.  Lots of interesting facts about how cotton is used.  I love hands-on displays like this one- it was cool to see the actual bale of cotton and feel the boles. 

The Borrowers

The Secret World of Arrietty comes out at the movie theater tomorrow.  In case you haven't heard about it, it is based on the classic book by Mary Norton called "The Borrowers". 

If you have never read this book to your children, now is the time to dive on in!  It is a cute tale about a family of "borrowers" that live in a "borrowed" house and "borrow" things from the regular-sized house occupants.  If you have ever wondered why you can not find the missing match to a sock or something else that you know you laid right where you could get to it... This may explain it all!!

There is actually a whole series of "The Borrowers" books.  We are planning to read them all, but so far we have read the first one pictured above.  The girls loved the story!

Now, we will be headed to the movie theater to see the story on the big screen!  I can't wait!!  Stay tuned for our feedback after the show!

The Secret World of Arrietty Trailer

Class #1: Anatomy & Physiology

For their Anatomy and Physiology class, we are using Apologia's Exploring Creation Science Series.  There is a textbook and a notebook that goes with the class.  Jaden and Morgan each have a notebook.  In the first chapter, it is a study of what anatomy and physiology mean, the history of it being studied, and started off the body discovery speaking of cells.  There were several fun experiments in the textbook, and the notebook had activity pages for them to write and draw what they remember from the chapter.  Their favorite part has been the "Try This!" sections which allow them to test out a theory or other project.  They made these "cells" out of jello and included all of the organelles inside the cell. The organelles were candy, fruit roll ups and chocolate- Every type of organelle was a different kind of candy.  At the end of it, they ate the cell up!!
We are in Chapter 2 now- studying bones.  It is a lot of fun & full of so much learning!

Snow 2/11/10~ Evening Snow Videos

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Homeschool!

We have had so much fun learning hands on!! (Yes, I said "we" because I am learning almost as much as Morgan and Jaden are!) We have been all over the place, but I haven't been posting- so sorry! I have a lot of catching up to do!

In the beginning, Jaden struggled with seatwork. I say this because even if she sat down to do the work in workbooks and things, she did not retain anything she had learned. I revamped their homeschool experience, and all of us have enjoyed it much more. We are doing hands-on as much as possible. It is wild how when Jaden is doing something at the same time learning is taking place, she can tell me all that I said!!

This picture on this post is from the museum we went to and learned about pioneers. Jaden and Morgan asked the curators all kinds of questions, and I could tell their minds were running a mile a minute.

So, I will be posting shortly about some of our fun adventures in life and homeschool. Stay tuned!!

CareFlight

This is the only time I want to get a good look at the inside of a care flight helicopter!

Keeping the Peace

Coming to a town near you, policewoman Jaden and policewoman Morgan. Watch out because they are siren happy!
This policeman was super-cool. He showed the girls all of the buttons they could push. They even got to talk through the speaker and tell people to pull over. It was hilarious!

Putting out Fires

Like I said there is always something to learn almost everywhere you go! Learning is so much fun! The girls enjoyed checking out the fire truck and seeing how the fire men put out fires. They even had a pretend house with fake fire for the kids to put out with a big hose. Pretty cool! It is events like these that give children ideas for future careers.

There's Always Something to Learn

No matter where you are! At the neurologist's office, the girls enjoy drawing pictures of brains and putting a brain together.

Jaden and the Snake

Every day I learn something new. Every day I learn at least one new thing about my girls. I took them to another Earth Fest and found out that Jaden likes snakes! Eeeeeeewwwww!

Mother's Day Crafts at Friday School

On the last day of school, I read books about mothers, and the kids made gifts for their mothers. The girls painted ladybug picture frames and the boys painted snail frames. Then, every one made a bracelet out of beads.

I am going to miss my class, and I know Morgan will, too. All of the children will be moving up to the PreK group this fall. I had the option to teach that group. I was going to instead teach the elementary students... However, after more thought, I have decided that we will sit this next school year out.

Instead of going to Friday school, the girls are going to pick an activity or two of something that they would like to learn to do at the community center. There are all kinds of classes. Morgan really wants to play soccer, so that may be one of her classes. Jaden loves art, so she might have some kind of art class.

Drawing at Friday School

At the Friday School showcase, the drawing teacher displayed 1 drawing of each child. Jaden had one of her practice sheets up. Just like "open house" in public school, all of the kids were proud to show off what they had been doing this semester to their parents, grandparents, etc.