Meeting Santa

Henry Huggins

We finished another chapter book today: "Henry Huggins" by Beverly Cleary. We finished about a week & a half ahead of schedule! I think I'll schedule in some Christmas stories before we get to the next read-aloud book.

I'm so proud of how my kids have been transitioning from picture books to chapter books this year! They follow along in the story with a little help.

Animal of the Week: Lion

More Man-Eating Lions

One of the books we are reading together in the unit about the African Savannah is "Born Free: A Lioness Of Two Worlds" by Joy Adamson. Today's chapter happens to be on man-eating lions. Not the same lions we witnessed in the Field Museum, but still a threat to man.

The author offers an explanation to my question from before:

"Most lions take to man-eating because they have some infirmity: either they have been wounded by an arrowhead or damaged in a trap, or their teeth are in bad condition, or they have porcupine quills in their paws, or they are very old and in this state turn to less agile forms of food than is natural to them. But there are exceptions, cases where one can only guess at the whim of nature which has induced them to hunt human flesh. Has this taste been aroused by the carelessness of the tribesmen who often sleep at night outside the thorn fence which protects their livestock? If a hungry lion who was considering the painful act of breaking through the fence to kill an animal inside were to find a dinner asleep outside, he would be tempted indeed; could he be blamed for taking the easier course? Such a happening might well become a habit and give birth to another man-eater. Naturally his cubs would learn his way of hunting, and so the trait might be carried on by teaching rather than by hereditary instinct."

Frightening but fascinating!

Twas the Night before Christmas... homeschool style

I found this on the web. Encouraging!

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the home,
Children were still studying for their test on Rome.
Mom was planning, she had just an hour,
To teach 'one more lesson' before their night shower.

A whole week of vacation, the children were thrilled,
But Mom saw the lesson plans, and the blocks were still filled.
"Can I stop for a day, much less a whole week?"
Just the thought of time off made me shudder and shriek!

Would they remember anything, would they fall behind?
"Lord, I need your help, just give me a sign!!!"
Then out on the sidewalk, I saw my four boys,
And I heard them say, "it's not about toys."

To the neighborhood kids, they explained Jesus' birth,
And how through Jesus, not toys, we gain our worth.
At that point, math and spelling and learning to write,
Meant little to me as I had lost the sight

Of what teaching at home was truly about.
Then I sat at my desk and began to pout.
The pouts turned to sobs, "Lord what have I done?
It's not about grades, but to follow your Son!"

"Please guide me and show me my job is to teach,
and turn them to you, and of Jesus I'll preach."
Now we'll put away books and not open them 'til later,
We'll focus on Jesus, our Lord and Creator.

It's His day and so we will all celebrate,
I'll never mention the words "behind" or "we're late".
So, Thank You, Lord, for blessing me,
With such a great husband and family.

Now homeschooling moms, TURN OUT THE SCHOOL LIGHT!
And, "Happy Christmas To All And To All A Good Night!"

— author unknown

http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/archive/index.php/t-232590.html

Man-Eaters?

These are the man-eating lions of Tsavo...the ACTUAL lions that the movie "The Ghost &The Darkness" is based on.

What makes a lion turn on humans like they did? Mysterious...

Chicago's Field Museum

We went to the Field Museum today and got totally overwhelmed. At least I did. Amazing how many animal names the kid's remembered. Their grandparents were impressed. :)

Nashville Zoo

Loving the meercat exhibit!

Animal of the Week: Giraffe

Moose Mess

A recipe from our science journal. Before cooking, the cookies resembled pellets of brown poop!

Visiting a Wetland

To wrap up our study of wetlands, we went to a local nature center that had a pond with a walkway. The kids successfully identified the green stuff on top of the pond as duckweed! I was very proud. Since it was fall, we were unable to spot much wildlife. Too bad...we'll have to visit again in the spring!

The Pinta and the Nina

Replicas of the ships docked in our town. Though we're not studying Columbus this year, why pass up a great opportunity?

Trying out a cannon..

 

Explaining the tools used on the ship...

Which rope does which job?

The ship is much smaller that I thought!

Peeking through the rear-view window

String Quartet

Our local library hosted storytime with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's string quartet. The kids got to try out a real violin!

Squirrel Feast

With Daddy's help, the kids made a feeder for our backyard squirrels. One of which they named "Jumpy".

In Search of Cattails

Our science journal put us on assignment...to find some cattails. Not too far from our home was a drainage area that had developed a small wetland! It was a little too late to see any wildlife since summer was over.

Lots of cattails!

Pretending to be in the desert

Throwing some rocks

Supervising...

Ereth's Birthday

We finished our first read-aloud book, "Ereth's Birthday" by Avi. It was a fun book about a porcupine trying to have a decent birthday but getting into misadventures along the way. I really enjoyed the flow of the book and the illustrations. The kids followed along well and my Pre-Schooler surprised me with a prediction about the end of the story!

Animal of the Week: Tiger

Fall Cupcakes

"First you take caramels and roll them into a ball."

"Momma washes the leaves and covers them with colored chocolate."

"Dip the caramels into the chocolate..."

"...then into the sprinkles."

"Ta-da!! You have acorns!"

Little One cheered them on...and wanted one!

The finished product. A yummy display of cupcakes celebrating FALL!!!!

Animal of the Week: Owl

Terribly interesting creature!

Owls are nocturnal (a new vocabulary word!) which means they hunt and are most active at night. Their very large eyes allow them to see well in the dark and do not move in the sockets so they have to turn their whole head around to see. The feathers on their wings are made so that they are almost silent when they fly which allows them to swoop down on their prey without warning. Their talons grab and crush their prey. AND the most exciting, though gross, fact we learned about was that they swallow their prey WHOLE! Then the owl regurgitates the indigestible parts and spits them out in pellet form. This owl pellet includes pieces of bone, fur and scales.

We are going to dissect an owl pellet!!!

Animal of the Week: Beaver

Big teeth and tails...THE BEAVER!!!

This animal proves to be quite amazing for the health of wetlands. Their homes, or lodges, are made out of twigs, sticks and mud in lakes, streams, or marshlands. The dams they build reduce soil erosion and create ponds that do not freeze over in winter. It also provides a new habitat for water birds and fish.

They are fun to watch too!

A Visit To The Zoo

Our local zoo developed a new indoor play area. We had to try it out! Of course, we had to visit the animals while we were there. It was a beautiful day to go to the zoo!

See the black bear in the background?

Penguins...

Zebras...

I wonder if they want to be veterinarians one day?

Little One sorts the vegetables...or makes a bigger mess?

My kids have turned into animals!!!!