Ordinary Life

The Ice Age was COLD and from the biblical worldview, a resulting climate effect due to the Deluge. We are learning about this in both Science and History. The project was simple: Who can hold an ice cube the longest? Who can hold two? Whose will melt the fastest? We set the timer for three minutes: Logan won & no one wanted a second round :)

In (Mystery of) History, we began to discuss Creation and the design of man.  The project  was to "create" our own little people out of clay. Using Crayola Air Dry Clay, we each sculpted a "Mini-Mee" of sorts, as we contemplated the great care that went into our very design. We were also challenged to create a new animal from scratch... one that no one has ever heard of before, in the same manner that all animals were first dreamed up. Everyone got REAL creative here, not to mention MESSY! . CHANDLER & his creature: LOGAN & her creature FISHER & his creature This was a great discussion builder and personally gave me a whole new attitude about those little "flaws" I seem to notice about myself. When I was "creating" my little Mee, there weren't any flaws... it was just the way she turned out and I liked each small detail that made my sculpture unique. I have not worked with clay a lot in this manner before, but I have always wanted...

SCIENCE PROJECT: Fossils & Earth Strata Our current studies have included fossils and how they are made, as well as the different layers of Earth and the strata formed by different textures of soil. Our project involved adding several differently weighted ground materials to a jar ( we used pebbles, rocks, sand and twigs). We then filled the remaining space in the jar with water. Each child took a turn being the "earthquake" and then we set our jar on a table to settle. We checked the jar one minute later and then another 30 minutes later. The longer the jar sits and settles, the clearer the water becomes and the layers of soil are more easily defined. It has been a few weeks since we did this project, the water is now pretty much back to it's "pre-earthquake(s)" state. Through this project, we were able to observe the effects of the Deluge on the Earth's surface. We could see how different objects were covered quickly enough under the moving sludge to ...

HOME EC: Blueberry Biscuits We put our measuring skills and instruction following ability to the test one morning not too long ago. The result was (thankfully) edible! Step 1: Find Early Birds Step 2: "Stir it up, lil' darlin'(s)...." Step 3: Place resulting concoction on cookie sheets & bake Step 4: Pour the milk, breakfast is ready! ( I mean, "Class Dismissed!")

ART PROJECT: Fusion Beads Each child was given a bead board and got to spend a little time on their "design". I then took a low heat iron and melted the beads to cries of "Wow!" and "Cool!" and "Awesome!" After their first design, they took a few beads and slid them onto toothpicks to make "worms". Chandler's design: Logan's design: Fisher's design (w/a little help from Mom): various worms: This was a fun, new activity; one they look forward to repeating many times again.

I know that judging by the blog posts, it looks like the students at Aletheia haven't been doing a whole lot. On the contrary, we've posted very little because we've been doing all sorts of things and can't find the time to sit still or find our fingers too messy to type! Recently, we made play dough using this recipe: Traditional Play Doh First we mixed the dough, then I placed it in plastic baggies and made a small indention. I then added drops of food coloring and imitation coconut flavoring for scent. Each kids kneaded a few bags to blend the colors in and smooth the dough. VIEW AS SLIDESHOW

We jumped ahead of our September 1 start date--if not to go ahead and start ticking off some of our required days, then because most of our books had finally arrived and between the extra rain and all the idle time it created, we've been needing something to busy ourselves. Our first day went fairly well- there are some hinges we'll oil along the way, but that is to be expected I suppose, especially with so many new textbooks to explore. CLASS OF 2008/2009 (SLIDESHOW) There are still a good many things I'd like to do in our "classroom" but for now I am just happy to be able to see the floor! Want the nickel tour thus far? As you climb the steps, you are encouraged to sing the alphabet song along with us-- there is no such letter as ELEMENOHPEE !...when we make our exit later, test your skill at reciting the whole 26 member set from Z to A...without peeking! As you make your way up to the classroom, you'll notice some very fine art hanging along the stairwell.....

Fresh from the "What Was I Thinking" file: As of this weekend, all of the children now have their Learn At Home "complete curriculum" books at the ready. There is nothing really wrong with this method and I will be using it as a supplement and guide, but so far it looks as if it wil fall in the catagory of one more curriculum I'll feel guilty about not using ( I have a whole crate of these!) On the Kindergarten level, it is full of suggestions about fun ways to deepen the lessons. On the 2nd and 3rd levels there looks to be a lot of useful worksheets for processing information... I just know that skipping around on this curriculum- as I've already decided I must- designed to use in page by page order is going to mess with my personal "organization rules" (no, you don't want to know 'em)

Our AIG Science material arrived this weekend. We are beginning with Earth Science and most specifically Our Weather and Water. We chose to start here because hurricane season is upon us. While we aren't hoping for any up close and personal observation labs, the chances are high that storms and weather reports of all sorts will be frequenting the news. Our first week will begin with Creation(meshing nicely with History) and move into the structure of the atmosphere. Every day has a small hands on project assigned to it, which means supply gathering but also- more importantly- invested learning!

We're starting the Mystery Of History curriculum this year and Volume 1:The Creation to The Resurrection finally arrived at the house. We are all excited to begin the series and start all of the fun projects inside. The first week we will cover the days of Creation, the Fall of Man, the beginning of music- Jubal and the beginning of bronze and iron working-Tubal Cain. As I have been researching the lesson plans online, I have already learned so much... I'm sure the children will too...let's be honest though, I'm just as excited to be going to school here!