We are wrapping up our study of Botany this week. We visited the US Botanical Garden in WDC. It was a really good trip. Kids enjoyed moving from room to room - Hawaii, the Desert, Orchid Room, Endangered plants room. The Garden has such a wonderful ambience. We had a little time before we needed to be back home before rush hour so we walked over to the National Gallery of Art. We aren't cultured enough to enjoy all the art but we thoroughly enjoyed the gift gallery. I was able to pick up Renaissance Art Cards to play "go fish" and a activity book on Arcimboldo - an artist whose works were made of fruits and vegetables. What a great segue from Botany to Art. I found this book at the library and finished it on Monday. The author mentions visiting the Gallery of Art and purchasing some great items for art appreciation for her homeschool. It gave me some really great ideas for homeschooling as it chronicles a mother's homeschooling year with her 5th grade daughter. Unlike a lot of homeschooling books I've read, the book reads like a novel instead of a "how to" book. But I should have expected that since the author is a college literature professor. Makes for some good reading especially for a newbie like me.

Tuesday we worked on Botany collages - finding pictures of people using plants in our world aesthetically, culturally, religiously, etc.



Wednesday & Thursday are a blur with the exception of buying supplies for our human body science unit on Thursday, and going to the library. But today we shopped for our Christmas box for Samaritan's Purse. We will have to do some work on Saturday to catch all of the things that fell through the cracks during the week.

Hope you had a productive week. Join the weekly wrap up by visiting the weird, unsocialized homeschoolers blog and sign up and see what other homeschooling families have been doing this week.

Week 11 and 3 weeks behind in TOG Y2. I just can't get it all in but we are progressing nicely through the lessons. This week's focus was Marco Polo and exploration of the far East. The only thing the girls knew was the pool game Marco Polo which we couldn't figure out the correlation. I'm a little nervous taking on the next 9 weeks of Middle Age History without the TOG unit guideline but SOTW and the Kingfisher Encyclopedia will have to day until I can order MFW Exploration through 1850.

I'm also venturing into a Human Body Unit by using Alpha Omega LifePacs that I used with DD13 last year coupled with library resources and worksheets from EnchantedLearning.com. Now I see why people come up with their own curriculum. It so hard to use the shelf curriculum exactly the way it was intended depending on your goals. I looked at Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy but just couldn't justify the cost as I know I'm not going to use the text for a complete year.

Here is how the week wrapped up:

History - I set up a hands-on activity from the SOTW Activity Book where we traveled on the Silk Route to trade goods in China from Europe. I made signs for the Gobi Desert and the Taklahaman Desert with pit stops equipped with snacks and water. We navigated the Yellow River (the steps from the basement to the main level) using a broom as an oar before reaching Kublai Khan's palace where we traded for gold, silk, and exotic plants. See, Kublai Khan is a Redskins fan??



It was fun and I know it solidified geography into the minds of my girls. Even though DD13 isn't formally studying history with us she joined us on this activity. I really need to break away from the book work and do this activities more often. They are really good for reinforcement.

Classical Conversations - we all went to the public library for DD13 to meet with her group for a study session. DD11, DD9 and I did our schoolwork at one of the tables in the library and then perused the shelves for new books. When we left the library DD13 left with a stack of historical fiction. She was turned on by a fellow student in her group and now she wants to read everything in that genre. In that moment I saw the benefit of her being involved in this group. Positive peer pressure!

Veteran's Day - we took the day off.

Math Lessons/Test, SOTW - The Ottoman Empire seizes Constantinople and updating our timeline. Playtime on the hill in the back of our house. I remember when the girls first discovered the hill they would run up and down the sides playing and yelling in delight. Now they dig in the ground pulling up roots and shouting "I found a fern"! Oh the joys of homeschooling.


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Well as usual Monday was our most productive day. We covered Genghis Kahn, did mapwork and updated our history timeline with SOTW. Math lessons done and worksheets completed for Language Arts. Tuesday - two worksheets done and some math done but we had a wonderful visit with family who were in town so that's a good reason not to get a lot done. But the highlight of our week was our visit to George Washington's Mt. Vernon. We aren't studying early American History but I couldn't refuse the reduced rate for homeschool day. Just like last year when we visited Monticello I forgot the camera! I took pictures with my cell phone but I don't know where the data cord is to transfer the pictures from the phone to the computer. So I'll have to visit the Verizon store to pick up a new cord then I can post the pictures here on tomorrow. Please visit late tomorrow if you've never seen Mt. Vernon, I think I got some pretty good shots.

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