Weekly Wrap Up -

I've decided to link my "Homeschool Highlights" up to the "Weekly Wrap Up" at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschooler's blog. I'm still new to all this linky parties and bloggy stuff so bare with me.

This week in Human Anatomy we did an experiment from Food and Nutrition to show how bile in our body acts as an emulsifier breaking down fats into small globules.

The blue bowl is the example of bile doing its job! B and J3 had a light bulb moment when they saw the results. I love it when experiments go well!

J1 helped me tremendously this week. He helped with math corrections, projects, and reading about the brain to B and J3.

B and that hat! She was wearing it all week! I'm not sure what that's all about. :-)
In Early American History we are finishing up the Seminole Indians. We are making Chickee huts as a final project to present at our quarter celebration. B and J3 went outside and gathered things from the yard they may be able to use on their models. J1 and J2 partnered up with each of them to help them costruct them. We will be working more on them next week.

J2 and I are still working our way through The Grapes of Wrath. Both of us are liking John Steinbeck's writing style. Pictures easily form as I am reading each chapter and I can at least understand everything that is going on! We can do this! We can do this! We can do this! (highschool literature that is)

Have a great homeschool week!

Enjoying Fall Art

For some reason fall is the season that brings out the artist in me. We all seem to make more time for art in the fall. Harmony Art Mom had some wonderful links here and here that inspired us.

We decided to try our hand at some apples and pumpkins from Hodgepodge
I was originally trying this out myself to see if my co-op class would enjoy doing this as our final project. Then the kids joined in on the fun.
Here's some of our finished work.

Then J2 and I moved onto the Tree Reflections project also from Hodgepodge. Loved it!!

The top one is mine and the bottom one is J2s. I love seeing how our styles differ. We are loving this fall art!!

Homeschool Highlights

I have not written a homeschool highlights post yet this year. It has taken us quite a while to get into a grove. I think we are still working on it!
This week was B's 12th birthday. We included a lot of games into our homeschool days. Scrabble is back "in" I guess. It's funny how something they have not been interested in for months is now something they want to play all the time. I'm hearing alot of, "Is such and such a word mom?"

B got Monopoly with electronic banking for her birthday and they are having a blast playing it.

Mozart is our composer this semester and we are listening to Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G Major. We listen to it using a video from You Tube.

Notice my son J3's face? He's always making silly faces when he sees I am taking pictures of him. :-)
We are continuing with Sonlights Human Anatomy. I had used it with J1 and J2 when they were younger. I ended up buying the updated guide for the younger two because there were so many updates. To my surprise, J3 really loves this science! He actually looks forward to it everyday. Who knew?! We finished up the digestive system this week.

J2 is taking a photography and graphic arts course through our homeschool group. A dad who is a professional in both of these professions teaches the courses. J2 is really enjoying them and learning so much. This week he had to design buisness cards and a bookmark based around a book you love or are currently reading. I was thrilled when he showed it to me and it was based on the Grapes of Wrath (since we are reading it this semester).

J1 is home with us during the days right now and it's proving challenging.
It's hard to have one home and not schooling when all of the rest of us are trying to keep a schedule all day. He's planning his next move after interning for three weeks for an editing company. Lately, he has been thinking about how to expand his portfolio. We talked about him possibly shooting a faux commercial for his grandparents restaurant, which got him researching better cameras that have more professional microphones built in. He's showing me all of the info his research has turned up and it's foreign to me. I'm just glad he has a focus again.

Onward and forward!!

Front Entrace Fall Update

I needed a quick and easy fall update for my front door this year. I had to shop my house and last year's decor for the arrangement on the door. I had a couple of wreaths that I have been using for the last three years for lack of a better option or funds. So decided to wreck them both!! Here's a pic of one of them before I destroyed it.

Check out my previous post, Porch Reveal, to see a picture of the front door area a couple of years ago. This wreath is on the door.

After "wrecking" both wreaths, I created something new in the basket I had on the door through the summer months.

My ferns that were on each side of the door were still doing amazing! I repotted them and added some fall mums instead. I just need to find a new home indoors for my ferns.
Here is my new and improved fall entrance...

I'm linking up to Southern Hospitalilty's Fall Y'all Autumn Link Party