All-in-One Bible Fun (Review)

The folks over at United Methodist Publishing House contacted me back in early August about reviewing their Sunday School curriculum.   I received my free copy on August 26 and then it got lost in my pile of things to do.  So my most sincere apologies for taking so long to get to it!

All-in-One Bible Fun boasts that it "includes everything but the cookies", and quite honestly, that is a pretty accurate description!  I received the "Stories of Jesus" curriculum for elementary aged children.  Each of the 13  lessons is laid out in an easy to understand way.  The reproducibles and crafts are simple enough that even a "craft challenged" teacher can enjoy craft time without being overwhelmed; but not so simple as to be boring to the kids.  For example, Lesson 1 (In the Stable)  has reproducibles to color and cut out; and then using a shoe box or other small box, each student can produce their own Christmas creche.  (My kids will SO be doing this in December!)

In the front of the teacher book is a comprehensive supplies list if you choose to do all the activities.   There is also a suggestion of how to break the book up if you'd like to  do short term unit studies.

Each lesson includes a central truth that is mentioned throughout the lesson.   Songs are a big part of the curriculum as well.  Not to worry if you're not a gifted singer, the songs are simple and are sung to familiar tunes like "Old McDonald" and "Three Blind Mice".  

My favorite part of the program is that prayer is a scheduled part of the learning experience each week!  There are also wonderful narrations, and opportunities for children to do small plays during class time.  There's a little something for all the learning styles!  

All-in-One Bible Fun was created to respond to the needs of churches:

feeling the budget pinch in their children’s ministry

unsure of the number of children in Sunday school each week

working with a Sunday school program that doesn’t meet each week  

At just $10 each, this low-cost children’s program is available for preschool and elementary age children and features:

Thirteen complete lessons in each book

No additional components to buy

Includes a plan with opening, story, activity, and craft

Undated material so teachers can use throughout the year

The following curriculum choices are currently available, or soon to be released, both in preschool and elementary school versions.

Stories of Jesus
Favorite Bible Stories (available December 2009)
Fruits of the Spirit (available December 2009)
Heroes of the Bible (avalialble Spring 2010)

Disclosure: This product was provided to me for free . Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Journey of the Mayflower and the Mayflower Compact

Since everyone does their Thanksgiving studies in November, I decided to start early on ours so that  we could make sure that the library books we needed are available.  I wanted to cover more information about the Pilgrims and Wampanoag this year.  To start our studies we read about the Separatists as they left England and moved to Holland; and then later made their journey across the Atlantic.

Books we used:
William Bradford, Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim by Gary. D. Schmidt
P is for Pilgrim by Carol Crane
Giving Thanks The 1621 Harvest Feast, by Kate Waters
Beauty and the Beaks, A Turkey's Cautionary Tale, by Mary Jane and Herm Auch (truthfully I didn't want the book, only the huge turkey puppet that came with it...but it was an interesting read).  Isn't this a great puppet?

Movies we used:
Colonial Life for Children, Plimoth Plantation, by Schlessinger Media
William Bradford the First Thanksgiving, by Living History Productions, Inc.

Enchanted Learning has a lovely Crossing of the Mayflower map and question/answer sheet that we printed out and worked on to memorize the facts of the trip. The girls are fascinated with Oceanus Hopkins, the baby that was born aboard the Mayflower.  They like the name Oceanus I guess.  We also printed a circular  Pilgrim book from Enchanted Learning.

We spent time learning about the Mayflower Compact.  I printed out copies of the Compact and then the girls used some of my Tim Holtz Distressing Ink to "antique" the paper.  The concept of "go lightly" wasn't grasped well...so the appearance is a bit harsher (and dare I say, gross looking) than intended.

We've also spent time this week working on more life skills.  Olivia has been helping in the kitchen a lot more, and Lindsey is quite the little laundress!

We have started going on daily walks around our neighborhood first thing in the mornings.  The girls were thrilled when we stumbled on a new home being built.  The first day we went by, the lumber was just being delivered, so we watched that tedious process.   By the following day the entire sub floor was complete. Today they have three of the four exterior walls up.  The kids look forward to going by each day on our walk.  The construction crew always waves and smiles as we stop to point out what's being done.

We have a bookfair in our area that opens up for two weeks at a time, several times a year. I finally made it over this past week and was really happy to find some great Christmas gifts, project packs and a Wonderboard Magnetic Geometric Shapes kit.  The kids have been having lots of fun with it, and they're being very creative.  They also had a house building magnetic board set that I wish I'd bought, now that we've found this lovely home being built nearby!  However, the girls are doing ok designing their own houses.

We're moving right along in Latin.  We're only on lesson 7, because that's typically the subject that gets cut if we're running out of time.  In my defense, I also do a review week about once per month where I spend the entire week going over all the words and phrases we've learned.  Olivia is really doing a great job.  I'm  thrilled to see how quickly she's taking to it.

I had planned on doing crafty type things today, but we had unexpected company for the entire day.  We spent the majority of the day outside,  making leaf piles to jump in...and no, I didn't think to take photos.

Tomorrow is the typical co-op and ballet day.  Although, it is pizza day at co-op, so I'm looking forward to having that for lunch instead of my standard PB&J.

Head over to the Weekly Wrap Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to check out everyone else's week.

Changes

Change is one of those words that can make or break you.  Some people are so fearful of change that they'll gladly suffer through a known misery, rather than to risk a potential unknown misery.  Change can bring new life into a situation, or kill it if implemented incorrectly.

So for the next little while, I'm plunging head first into the world of change.  I'm putting our curriculum aside for now.  I'll get back to it I'm certain.  But for now, I don't want to look at boring worksheets.  I don't want to be stuck inside all day during my favorite time of the year.  We're going to get out and do things and spend time together learning and having fun.   There will be plenty of time for worksheets and indoors when winter hits and the temperatures fall.

Please note that I am  slightly OCD (she says mockingly).  So I cannot say this will last for an extended period.  Quite honestly, the fact that we won't be clicking off numbered lesson plans will tweak me greatly.  Maybe, just maybe it's my turn to learn some things from my kids, or at least enjoy their exuberance!

This my friends will be an interesting week, one way or the other!

Pennsylvania Week 5 Wrap Up

Woohhooo!  Another state completed! Only 48 to go!   We're really enjoying using Cantering the Country as we work our way through the 50 states.    Although, in hindsight, I could have saved  the money for the curriculum by just using the library and internet.  I'm really changing my entire mindset about prepackaged products...but that's another post all together!

In our Pennsylvania studies this week, we focused on the state bird (Ruffed Grouse), state flower (mountain laurel) the state quarter and our pages in our United States Coloring Book.   We also completed our state report and then used the maps/brochures we had to create our lovely state collages.  Saturday we'll have our Pennsylvania meal of chicken paprika, carrot fritters and pumpkin nut cake (it'll just be a pumpkin cake, because I forgot to buy nuts).    I believe I've mentioned before that the recipes come from the Eat Your Way Through the USA book; but here it is again in case you're curious.

Olivia's math program started working with liquid measurements this week.  Although, I have to admit I wasn't really thrilled with the way it was covered in one day and then not mentioned anymore.  So I took the liberty (oh how I love having liberty in our teaching) to create this handy dandy "activity center" for the week. 

The tub holds a funnel, 1 cup measuring cup, 2 pint milk containers, 1 quart jar and a 1 gallon plastic jug (and an unrelated egg carton for working with dozen).  So we spent some time each day working with measuring 2 cups into the pint; and then 2 pints into the quart and of course 4 quarts into a gallon.  Then we switched around to see how many cups and pints are in a gallon and how to find the sum of  any of the measurements based on our knowledge base  By the end of the week, Olivia had a strong grasp of the amounts, and pruney finger from playing in the water.  The handy dandy tub not only stored everything, but kept my kitchen floor relatively dry during all the pouring with the gallon jug.

Lindsey is doing well with math, she's counting great and can add and subtract in her head (pretty impressive for a 4 year old) but she's been having issues with recognizing the  numbers 7, 8 and 9.  So I made some "puzzles" for her to work with all week.  The seven was simple, a #7 with 7 green hearts to place properly.  The 8 was fun, because I used two "cookies" for the circles and used the wording of "the number 8 ate two cookies"  which helped her greatly.  Her curriculum describes nine as "a ball on a stick"...k..whatever, so I made a ball, and a stick for her to match.  So by the end of the week, she knew the names of each and was allowed to glue the parts onto the patterns and place them in her notebook.

Tuesday we worked on life skills.  The girls helped with sorting, folding and putting away laundry.  They also helped me to work in the garden and flower beds pulling up all the dead vegetation (we had a HEAVY frost this week and everything was killed for the most part).   Our compost bin is completely full, and I had to start another pile in the corner of the garden!

Both girls finished memorizing the books of the Old Testament this week.  Now we're moving on to the New Testament, with daily recitation of the OT, so as not to lose it.

Oh, and we had our first official Crazy Hat Day!   Lindsey's hat kept sliding completely over her face, which made for some interesting handwriting assignments.

Tomorrow we're back to co-op and ballet, so that wraps up our week.  Head over toWeird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to check out everyone else's Weekly Wrap Up.

Sarah’s Wish Special Deal

For those of you who read my review of Sarah's Wish, I have exciting news!!   The author has given my readers an incredible deal on his book series.

Sarah's Wish ~ $8.50 {retail: $10.00 ~ save $2.49}
Sarah's Promise ~ $10.50 {retail: $14.99 ~ save $4.49}
Sarah's Escape ~ $15.50 {retail: $21.99 ~ save $6.49}
Extra special offer: Purchase all of the items above and add an extra copy of Sarah's Wish for $4.00. You can give it to a friend for Christimas!

In addition you also get FREE SHIPPING!

The only "catch" is in order to get these special prices, you have to use mail order only, using the specific order form that I have.  These prices are NOT available on the website.  So if you would like to take advantage of this great price on these great books, leave a message with your email address in it, or email me and I'll  send you the order form!  (Look on my left sidebar and click on the contact me button.)

Homeschool Blog Awards Accepting Nominations

{Click on the button to start nominating}

The Homeschool Blog Awards are now accepting nominations for the 2009 contest!
Here are a few guidelines:

• Nominate only one blog per category – once. You can not nominate the same blog over and over!

• Do not nominate one blog for MORE than one category. Pick the category that is best suited to the blog and nominate it in that category.

• If a blog does not get nominated in the same category at least three times, it will not be in the final voting stage for that category. You will find out who made the finals in November.

ABC Teach (Review)

Anytime you google "free printables" of the educational kind, you can pretty much count on abcteach being on or near the top of the list!   abcteach boasts over 5000 FREE printables!  In addition to the free items, paid members have access to over 35,0000 items!

Here is a sampling of some of the teaching aides you'll find at your fingertips.

• Flashcards

• Theme Units

• Learning Center Activities

• PowerPoint

• Clip Art

• Languages/ESL

• Prek/Early Learning

is another fabulous feature that allows you to create your own customized worksheets using the worksheet generator templates.

While reviewing my free 30 day membership for review, I took the opportunity to create several unit studies using the abcteach site.  The first unit study is on Thanksgiving (no big surprise there I'm sure).  I was happy to see that items pertaining to the Wampanoag tribe were included in their resources!  We'll be starting this unit the last week of October.

The other unit study I created based on lots of abcteach printables is the solar system, to go along with the lovely model set I bought for $3 at a discount store!   I was pleased to find printables that are appropriate for both my 1st grader and my preschooler.    I won't be using this unit until after the fist of the year, but lets be honest folks...my free membership expires next week and I do not currently have the funds to purchase a membership...so I made good use of my time!

I realize that not every homeschooling family loves and/or uses worksheets, and that's ok!  There are other resources available at abcteach that may enhance your learning experience.  If you are a worksheet family, you'll definitely be able to get your money's worth out of your membership.   I've outlined the cost for you below:

$40 per user per year / $70 two years — individuals/groups 2-9
$35 per user per year — groups of 10-29
$25 per user per year — groups of 30 or more. **SUPER SITE LICENSE pricing available for groups of 100 or more. Contact support@abcteach.com for details.

To read more TOS Crew reviews of this product, visit the Crew Blog.

Disclosure: This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

Free Autumn Unit Study and Lapbook

There are so many wonderful things going on in fall!  If you're trying to figure out a way to work this wonderful season into your school day, you're in luck!  The Old Schoolhouse and Amanda Bennet have worked together to provide this wonderful and  free Autumn Treasures Unit Study and Lapbook.

This unit study is loaded with activities for every age group in your homeschool.  If you're new to unit study or lapbook projects, this is just the thing to help you get started on the right foot.  If you're an old pro, then sit back and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.  You can get your free download, by clicking the link above, or by going here.

Pennsylvania Week 4

This was a relatively uneventful unproductive week.  Monday we ditched our books and went on a hike most of the day.  You can read more about our outing by going here.  Then in the evening we just did some easy reading and puzzles.   Ballet was cancelled, so we didn't even have that going on!

Tuesday and Wednesday were just typical days.   The girls had Awana at night.  During the day we focused on our core subjects and then finished up reading about Ben Franklin and did a biography on both Ben and William Penn. 

Books we used:

William Penn Founder of Pennsylvania, by Steven Kroll
Let Freedom Ring Benjamin Franklin, by Susan R. Gregson
The Ben Franklin Book of Easy & Incredible Experiments

Today, (Thursday) was a short day.  We only did 2 hours of classes at home this morning, again covering core subjects (rather quickly).  Then we loaded up to go to our monthly activity day get together.  Olivia's art class made some crazy pumpkin patch thingy.  Each child received a half sheet of poster board and then used various things to  complete the project.  A large, crumpled piece of tinfoil painted orange was the main pumpkin.  Some crushed eggshells, also painted orange, was another pumpkinish type thing.  Yarn was used to make the vines and then green sponge painting for the leaves.  It was very...interesting.   Sadly the paints were all watercolors that hadn't dried nearly enough.  Did I also mention that the monsoons have set in and it's been pouring rain for two days.   Needless to say, that craft literally dissolved walking across the parking lot.

Lindsey's class focused on apples.  They read several books about apples, played some games involving apples and had a snack (you'll never guess what they had).   Her craft was pretty cute.  It was a mosaic apple made out of colored tissue paper, glue and construction paper.  Did I mention the heavy RAIN??

I'm teaching a class on Native Americans for 9-11 year olds.  I'm using the Evan-Moor Native American  History Pockets for the class.  We're building a 9 pocket portfolio over the school year.  This month we studied the Seminoles and made a headdress for everyone to wear home.  We as a family don't celebrate Halloween, but I figured since this was October and this was the only tribe that had something to wear as an activity, we'd do it now.  I also made homemade popcorn balls for a snack....ok, so other than the popcorn it's not an authentic Native American food...but humor me here.

Friday is our weekly co-op followed by ballet for Olivia.   Next week I'm hoping to finish up with Pennsylvania so we can do a 4 week or so study about Thanksgiving, Squanto and the Pilgrims.

Visit Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to see this weeks version of the Weekly Wrap Up.

Virginia Soaps and Scents (Review)

As part of TOS Crew, I recently received a lovely box from Virginia Soaps and Scents to review.  As soon as I opened the box and smelled the delicious aroma of the soaps, I knew I was going to like this product!    Inside the package were three "Bed and Breakfast" size soaps in the following scents, Fresh Orange, Oatmeal Milk & Honey and Coconut Lemongrass.  Then I saw the oddest thing...a shampoo bar.  I had never considered a bar for my hair so this was "intriguing" to say the least.   The final product was Laundry Soap Kit. 

The three hand/bath soaps were wonderful!    The aroma's were wonderful and lasting, but not overpowering in the least.  My favorite was the Fresh Orange!   The soaps all lathered well, and left our skin feeling clean and soft.

The full size soap bars are 4.5 oz. and sell for $4.50 each.   There are various lovely scents, as well as unscented products and the new Christmas scent soaps are now available!  I'll be ordering the Pumpkin Spice soap SOON!

I was a bit hesitant about the shampoo bar; just because it was a new concept I guess.  I decided to have everyone use this product since we all have such different hair, just to see how it did.   To get a lather, you rub the bar directly onto your wet hair.

Lindsey has long, thin, baby fine hair that tangles a LOT during bath time, and is fly away when dry.   Typically after her hair is washed I have to spray lots of detangler on it to get the come through.  After using the shampoo bar the first time I did not have to use the detangler.  When dry,  her hair wasn't nearly as limp and fly away.  

Olivia has long, THICK hair that can get oily very quickly.  Since her hair is so thick and long, when using the bar, I lifted her hair in sections and rubbed the bar around and was really surprised at how well it worked into a lather and how well it seemed to clean.  We didn't use detangler on her hair after washing either.  Olivia doesn't like to have her hair up a lot, and it tends to get "stringy" looking through the day, but I did notice that it laid a lot more smoothly after using the shampoo bar.

My hair is a combination of Olivia and Lindsey's.  It's long and fine, but there is a TON of it.  My first reaction was that my hair felt "squeaky"....which I guess is a good thing, but I wasn't used to it.   It was easier to comb out too.  What I really liked was that it didn't look "bushy" when it dried.  It laid more smoothly than usual and didn't seem nearly as dry either.  

My husband has short, thick, coarse hair.  He was really impressed with the way his hair managed after using the bar.  His hair feels a lot softer to the touch now, and he's asked me to start buying the shampoo bar instead of the normal product we use.

For our family, the shampoo bar gets an average rating.  Although we all did initially like the product, after continued use we're finding that it's leaving a heavy buildup, both on our hair and in our brush/combs.  Not happy with that, so we've discontinued using it.  I have read though that a vinegar rinse takes this problem away, but I  just didn't want to go the extra step.    The shampoo bars are 5.5 oz. and sell for $5.50.  The folks at Virginia Soaps and Scents say that one bar should last as long as a 32oz. bottle of shampoo, and you may be able to stop buying conditioner as well. 

I've been wanting to make my own laundry soap for sometime now.  I've even bought the supplies...but that's as far as I've gotten.  So receiving the Laundry Soap Kit was a great thing!  I was surprised at how quick it is to make, and how well it works.   So I'm thinking I'll be making my own detergent from now on too (gotta love that growing things to do list you know).

Another thing I like about this product, is that it's made by a real homeschooling family here in the great state of Virginia!  Roy & Richelle Spargur and their family started making soaps during a unit study on colonial life, and that simple study turned into a business.   All products are made from all natural ingredients.   The soaps are hand cut, and no two are exactly alike.  I love knowing that our hard earned money is helping another homeschooling family here!

To read more reviews about Virginia Soaps and Scents, head over to the TOS Crew blog by clicking here.

Disclosure: This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

Fall Hiking Fun

I totally love the fall!  I love the crisp air and the changing leaves.  It's so much more inviting to me than summer is.   Monday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a family hike instead of pouring over books all day.    We drove to one of our city's local parks.  There are lots of hiking trails and things to do.  Unfortunately, you have to drive by the playground to get to the hiking area; so a lot of your hike sounds like this "Are we going to the playground?"..."Maybe later, if we have time."...."Ooooohh."  long pause..."can we go to the playground NOW so we know we have enough time?".  "Um, NO!"   Wait approximately 3-5 minutes, and repeat the entire conversation.  So a big thank you to whoever designed THAT park.

Despite the incessant whining million questions about the playground , we had fun and learned some things as well.  My husband knows far more about identifying trees than I do, so he led our expedition through the woods (not to mention if there were any bears they could eat him while we ran away to get help). 

We learned to identify oak, maple, walnut, hickory and ash trees by their leaves.   Here is a sampling for you.  Can you identify these?

In case you live in the city, or an area where there are no walnut trees, here is a photo for you!  The green ball on the left is a green walnut.  It'll turn black and get all oozy and then you split the outer shell to find the inner shell (the little black nut in the other hand).   Then of course you have to split that shell to get ot the walnut meat.  (Oh, and in case you don't know...wear gloves, that black ooze will stain your hands indefinitely.)

We also spotted some very interesting fungi growing on various trees.  We'll be identifying these later in the week when the rains set in.

Squirrels are funny creatures, truly.  The ones in our yard at home are very entertaining to watch.  Apparently the squirrels in the wild have learned some small amount of etiquette.  They at least eat their meals at the table, but they aren't good at cleaning up after themselves.

We also sat down to eat a snack.  Although we opted to sit on a  cleaner picnic table instead of placing our food on a table that OBVIOUSLY has had lots of little squirrel butts on it recently.  Lindsey is just as cute as a bugs ear.

Then her sister has to go and look at the camera like THIS...and cause her father to start to twitch, again.

It was a fun and relaxing day.  We headed home and had grilled cheese, tomato soup and hot cocoa for dinner before my husband left for work.   While I fixed dinner, Thomas built our first fire of the year.   The house was warm and cozy, and all was right in our little world.

Amazing Bible Timeline (Review)

Admittedly, I do not instantly jump on each product to begin the review process as soon at it arrives in the mail.  I try to see how I can make it fit into our current studies as disruptively as possible.  I also like to preview the product before presenting it to my children.   Such is the case with the Amazing Bible Timeline.    I received a free copy of this in depth, color coded, 37" x 45"  timeline on September 12.    To be honest , I unrolled it, hung it on the wall in our classroom and left it there while I finished using and reviewing several other free products.  It was on my agenda to start using and reviewing the product  the week of October 19th. 

Then I received a "clarification" email from the makers of the Amazing Bible Timeline that sparked a more urgent interest.  This particular quote sent up a red flag for me:

"Why is there an LDS version of the Timeline? We began working with the Amazing Bible Timeline in 1975, forty-four years after its first printing in 1931.  1975 was a time when Christians were committed to building greater unity or cooperation among Christian faiths, very different from todays time of Bible bashing and rejection of any Christian whose faith does not exactly match our own.  The contention among Christians today is appalling to us and we don't support it.  We miss the days of cooperation and true tolerance. 
To answer the question, we were asked to provide an LDS version. We did it and we still provide it today.  None of the original Timeline dates were changed and no LDS dates were added to the original Amazing Bible Timeline.  A separate version was made with separate copyrights and ISBNs. "

So today, I've pushed aside my already planned activities, and I've spent time studying the timeline itself.    There is a direct reference to the Book of Mormon at 400AD.  Shortly above 1800AD there is the notation that in 1847 Brigham Young led Mormon pioneers to Utah.  I find it interesting that there is no other notation of any other church development (Wesleyan, Baptist etc.) anywhere on the timeline.  This does make one see, that despite this above claim, the timeline is skewed by the Mormon doctrine and perspective. 

Feel free to label me as intolerant, I'm okay with that really.  I'm okay with the fact that not everyone shares the same doctrinal beliefs.  I'm not okay with being misled by a product.  A Bible timeline should be just that, with no other "scripture"  references that are not from the Bible. 

This product may be just the thing to make your history study be all that you want it to be.  If so, you can purchase your own copy for $29.97 by going to the Amazing Bible Timeline site.   If you'd like to read more explanations from the producers of this resource, you can click on this site.

We will not be using this product in our studies.  If you are LDS, I'm not trying to offend you.  However, one of our main goals in homeschooling is to teach a Biblical world view.  I feel that is using a product that uses non-Biblical "scriptures" as reference is not in keeping with the goals set for our family. 

To read other TOS Crew member reviews, click here.

Disclosure: This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

Pennsylvania Week 3 (The Weatherman Cometh)

This week in our Pennsylvania study we started off by learning about  the Liberty Bell.  I thought it was interesting that it cracked the first time it was used, and it was melted down and remade twice with the same results.   Researching online I found a lovely connect the dot drawing of the Liberty Bell on abcteach.   We also used the following books from the library:

American Symbols The Liberty Bell, by Debbie L. Yanuck
The Liberty Bell, Gail Sakurai

We then moved on to studying Ben Franklin.   This made for a very hands on week!  We used the following books from our library:

Let Freedom Ring Benjamin Franklin, by Susan r. Gregson
Benjamin Franklin A Man of Many Talents, by the editors of TIME for Kids
The Ben Franklin Book of Easy & Incredible Experiments, A Frank Institute Science Museum Book

Using the Book of Easy & Incredible Experiments, we built our own weather station this week.   First we made a thermometer using rubbing alcohol, water, food coloring a clear bottle, a straw and some homemade playdoh.  As the temperature increased the colored mixture would move up the straw, and then back down as the temperature fell.

Next we made a barometer out of a wide mouthed glass jar, a rubber band, a balloon, a straw and some tape and an index card.   The air pressure pushing on the top of the balloon would cause the straw to move.  So we marked our starting spot and checked it each day.

A wind vane was next on our agenda, so that we could see the direction of the wind.  This was pretty simple, consisting of an index card, 2 hollow coffee stirrers (the guy at the coffee shop was very interested when I told him why I needed them), a paper clip, pushpin, playdoh and plain paper.  Obviously, we used this to tell the direction the wind was blowing. 

To measure the speed of the wind, we built this lovely anemometer using 4 small paper cups, 2 strips of corrugated cardboard, a pushpin, stapler, pencil with and eraser and more homemade playdoh.  We colored one cup, and used it to count rotations in a 1 minute period.

I had never heard of a hygrometer until now, so we made that too!  (It measures humidity.)  All we used were 2 index cards, a brass paper fastener, a 6 inch strand of Olivia's hair and some masking tape.  The hair would expand and/or contract depending on the humidity level in the air, causing the arm to move up and down.   The hygrometer is the index car at the bottom of the photo above, you have to look closely to see the hair just to the left edge.

We already had a rain catcher, so I didn't see any point in making another.  We also didn't have any rain this week so there was nothing to note.

For our read aloud time, we read the book Bread and Butter Indian by Anne Colver.  For those not familiar with the story, it takes place in the Lancaster area, shortly after Pennsylvania became a state.  The fact that there was an indian in the story was enough to hold my audience captive throughout the entire reading.    We read the entire 96 pages in one sitting, over a huge bowl of popcorn and some hot cocoa!

This week is the fall baseball picnic, and Olivia wanted to make something special for her coach.  He loves dogs (raises show dogs), and Olivia loves pink, which is why the coach nicknamed her "Pinkie".  We decided to mix up some homemade puffy paint, from a recent post by Jolanthe over at Homeschool Creations.  LOVE IT!   The recipe is simple enough, 3/4 cup shaving cream, 1/4 cup white glue and some paint to add color.

It looks tasty...almost.

So her gift for Coach David is this lovely pink puffy paint dog.  I personally see it more as a pig, but she says it's a dog, who am I to argue with an artist?

Not to be outdone, Lindsey made a cat.  The difference, is all in the ears my friend.

Nothing else overly exciting to report here.  Tomorrow is co-op, although I've already gotten word that there are a lot of teachers (and students) out tomorrow because swine flu is making its rounds through our area.   

Head over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for Kris' weekly wrap up!