Rudolph has landed!

Unit Day 3

Falconry was very popular during the middle ages- Tera wanted hers to look like a parrot and Daniel named his bird Robin. Whatever floats their boat.
We made homemade pretzels. Pretzels were given to children during the Middle Ages as a reward for learning their prayers. It was suppose to resemble the folding of the arms in prayer. They would also wish upon the pretzel- two people would grab either side and pull, whoever got the biggest part would have their wish come true especially if their wish was to get the bigger half.

We also started a model of a castle. This was a whole family project- the instructions were very difficult for kids to do on their own but after they paint it tomorrow, it should look really good.

We had a lesson on work and forces today. Our big experiment with the spring scale didn't quite have the intended results but that happens sometimes. They had fun setting up the experiment though. We talked about pushes and pulls and tried to find various things in our day where we use these forces. We also figured out how much work would have to be used to accomplish certain jobs aka force x distance = work.

Unit Day 2

I am feeling the rush to Christmas but we made it through our second day of our unit. No pictures sorry and nothing overly exciting today either. We continued with some weighing activities. We made a chart of customary vs. metric units of measure. The kids used old magazines to find symbols of measure- ml, oz., lb., etc. They had a little trouble remembering the difference between the two so I made a list to help them. This is definitely an area we need to revisit after this week. We practiced measuring things using a hooked spring scale- again we are measuring their Christmas parade candy and toys.

Our Middle Ages part consisted of reading a few books on castles. We were supposed to make a castle today but I shifted it that to another day (I wasn't really prepared for paint today). We finished up watching a couple of episodes of Robin Hood. Like I said nothing real exciting this day but oh well, they had fun learning and we are done. So WOO HOO!

Some Favorite Ornaments

This is one of our Jesse Tree ornaments. They are engraved metal from Thailand. My mom bought this set with a devotional from a missionary who came to her church. They are so cool and the most unique Jesse Tree ornaments I have seen. But since they are metal it's hard to get a good picture. Come over sometime and I'll let you see them in person!
This is a mailbox made for my husband by his great aunt. Below is a version I have made for our kids. I am finishing Michael's now.

Every year our kids pick out their own ornament which range from stuffed horses to crystal angels to Dora to Rudolf...well you get the idea. We also have a family ornament every year. We started this the year before we were married during our engagement. The rules are you pick an ornament with one figure for each family member. When there was only two of us, they were easy to find, now we have to buy the ones they sell at the mall. Above is our ornament from last year. This year we will have an ornament with 5 figures since this is Michael's first Christmas with us. We have everything from Veggie Tales to Charlie Brown. I love our family ornaments.

I love my babies and am constantly amazed at how similar they all looked as babies. I really like our memory ornaments.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Tree 2009- I'm calling it our memory tree. We were done with "balls" last year, our tree is filled with "special" ornaments we've picked out, or were made for us by people in our past. It is a trip down memory lane every year. I'll post specific ornament pictures and pictures of our unique Jesse Tree later this week.
One adorable little man who is now pulling up and begging food off of us.

A couple of pictures before our homeschool group Christmas program. My beginning recorder class played that night and did a great job. The rest of us just went for the performance.

Unit Week- Middle Ages and Mass/Weight/Work

Weighing candy- what else would you weigh after the Christmas parade?

Playing a game of Three Dice- You toss the dice three times, add up each number. Whoever gets the highest wins the round. Great way to practice adding 3 numbers. Dice games were very popular during the Middle Ages.

Tera and Daniel's homemade "draughts" game aka Checkers, a popular game during the Middle Ages.

Perspective Drawings- In the Middle Ages, artists began using techniques to show near and far in their paintings. Tera's is on top.

They designed their own coat of arms and we looked online at our family crests.

My Top Ten Christmas Songs

1. O Holy Night- my favorite Christmas hymn, I just love the peacefulness of this song.

2. Christmas in Dixie by Alabama- Every Christmas I hear this song, reminds me of home

3. Welcome to our World by Chris Rice

4. Such a Strange Way to Save the World- by (I don't know) but I really like this song.

5. What Child is This?

6. Silver Bells- every since I can remember this has been one of my favorite Christmas songs, probably should be in the #1 spot. It reminds me of my childhood with my family especially the year before my parents divorced.

7. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree- only sung by Brenda Lee. It is annoying me this year that they are not playing her version on our radio station. It just isn't the same to me.

8. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) Nat King Cole version

9. Tender Tennessee Christmas by Amy Grant- Pretty cool now that I live in Tennessee and love it here.

10. White Christmas

First Snow

Nature Girl and Seabiscuit

I decided instead of nature journals this year, the kids would have a nature blog. We are kicking it off with a Guess That Hiney series. Check it out and try to guess that hiney:
www.naturegirlandseabiscuit.blogspot.com

Knoxville Zoo

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this yummy dessert for Thanksgiving, my first attempt at a baked cheesecake. I found the recipe here: www.kraftfoods.com listed as Philadelphia 3-Step Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. I modified the full fat recipe by using one regular cream cheese and one fat free. It didn't change the richness at all. It was very yummy!

Michael's First Hike

A few weeks ago, we went on a short hike up to Look Rock. It was our first attempt hiking with Michael, he did great! We are hoping to hit the trail again soon!