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Playdough for the Holidays

The kiddos made this the other day, and boy does it smell good! Pumpkin Pie Playdough 5 1/2 c flour 2 c salt 8 tsp cream of tartar 3/4 c oil 4 c water pumpkin pie spice (see below) orange food coloring (2 part yellow/1 part red) Mix ingredients together.  Cook over medium-low heat and…

Unit Studies

Co-op gals – Here’s the basic outline from the unit study presentation.  I posted this same blog last year, but have added some new websites, a section about grades, and a couple of other things.  Have fun learning! What is a unit study? A unit study is really any subject that you spend time learning about.  Many times a unit study…

Columbus Day Science

Our Fun Friday activity this week focused on Columbus Day.  We did the sink or float experiment from Science Projects for Holidays Throughout the Year.  After doing some basic experimentation on what objects sink or float, we moved on to asking the question, “Does sinking and floating make a difference in salt water vs. fresh water?”…

Floor Graphs

I’ve got a fun math activity for you!  It’s important to me that my children not only know how to read graphs, but know how to create them as well.  Mahayla is a pro at gathering information and creating her own graphs on paper.  Caleb is just beginning, though, so I wanted him to make a “concrete”  graph…

Our Weekend

What a lovely end to September!  Beautiful weather, great fun and good company. After a trip to the local Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Steve and the kids headed to the back of our farm for a little fishing in the creek.  Mahayla made the catch of the day with this nice-looking bass.  It made a…

A Trip to Michigan

Why is it that you usually feel dirtier after showering at a hotel than you did before you showered?  Why is it that once the baby finally falls asleep in his carseat, somebody else in the car decides they have to use the bathroom and can’t possibly hold it – thus waking up the baby…

Artist Study – Durer

I love Discovering Great Artists!  I’ve used it in our home and in a co-op art class.  This lesson came from the book. Albrecht Durer did paintings, watercolors, drawing and woodcuts.  We tried our hand at woodblock printing, which was one of Durer’s specialties.  You take wood blocks and hammer metal objects into the wood to make impressions. …