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…
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…
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. …
My Daddy is turning 60. Twenty-four years ago on my Mom’s 30th birthday, my Dad surprised her with a party full of friends and family. It took her quite a long time to repay the favor, but she successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for him this year! We had such a good time! …
Studying Ancient Greece has been so much fun! We could’ve spent many more days lingering in the Greek hillsides, but it’s time to move on to Ancient Rome. Here are some highlights from our week. On top of the regular reading about Ancient Greece, map work, timelines and such, we did lots of hands-on activities,…
We are SO pleased with the first edition of the Westward Gazette! I bought a $20 software program from WalMart called Perfect Pro Office that made our computer work simple. (Word Perfect is the only office-type program that came on my computer and it stinks for projects.) The newsletter includes a story or journal entry from…
Grandma, read no further! Here’s an idea from the Holidays Around the Year book that we did as part of our seasonal Friday lesson last week. We learned the science behind suminagashi art (marbling paints) and created beautiful card covers. Inside the kids have written letters to both sets of grandparents for Grandparent’s Day. We finished…
(This post contains links to my books.) What is chromatography? It’s a big name for: separating mixtures. Or, in this case separating pigments. As complicated as the word sounds, experimenting with chromatography is very easy. Chromatography with Markers I always like to teach the concept of chromatography with markers before using other materials because markers…
What fun we had visiting WKYT TV in Lexington today! They took us on a tour of the newsroom, video control room for broadcasts, video control room for taping shows, and the live set. The kids all had the chance to stand in front of the green screen to try their hand at pointing correctly on the weather map. …
If writing isn’t a natural passion for your child, it can be a subject full of drudgery. Believe me, I know. Up until this year Mahayla has fought me tooth and nail over any sort of writing assignment. This year has been different, though. I believe she’s enjoying writing partly because of maturity, but I’ve made…
We’re on a tour of ancient history right now and loving it! So far we’ve been through Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. I thought I’d share a few highlights of this week in Egypt since we had so much fun. The best part of the week was mummifying a Ken doll. Thanks Jamin for the…
(This post contains affiliate links.) Picture Prompts Inspire Writing Here’s a fun way to get your kids to write – and it’s VERY easy! Use homemade picture prompts. Simply cut out interesting pictures from magazines, old calendars, old books, etc. and paste them on card stock. Let your child choose a picture, then write a…