The last few weeks

We have been busy the last few weeks but I've neglected to blog about it, mostly because we've just had so much going on! We did a week's study about yeast and mold which led to many opportunities for science, and a ton of fun! We learned that yeast emits gas by having the air blow up a balloon and also tested what yeast likes to eat best. We tested oil, salt, sugar, cookie (NutriGrain bar) and flour (and nothing for a control). We also grew mold on the bread we'd made the previous week and looked at it under a magnifying glass. Gross, but educational!

                                       

The following week we learned about babies, including a basic explanation of how babies are made. I was really nervous about this week, because I wasn't sure what kinds of questions the girls would ask. And the fact that they might put 2 and 2 together that Mommy has a baby in her tummy so...ya know. I prepared and had on hand a lot of books and such. But Caley was fine with simply knowing that it takes a Mommy and a Daddy to make a baby, and the baby starts out really small inside the mommy and grows and grows. We read a book about bellybuttons, that everyone has one, and looked at a magazine of "A Child is Born" with the prenatal photos and put them on a timeline of the baby's growth. I also arranged for us to go the Everett Pregnancy Resource Center and look at their materials, including models of babies. We were just in a small counseling room for about 20 minutes and I let the kids explore the models and put them in order of age. They loved it! Talking about babies also lent itself well to how to take care of babies, what babies need, how we can prepare for our baby and how much we've changed since we were babies. 

                                      

That same week we went to the pumpkin patch (pictures coming soon), played with a new train tent, and played with Legos with Daddy! 

Caley really is enjoying school. We are trying to be flexible and frequently do school work in the afternoon when Wesley is napping. It's easier for her to focus when he's not around climbing all over everything. I enjoy it because it frees up our mornings to do fun things together with everyone, or go somewhere together.

I am really glad to be homeschooling. It makes me really happy to be able to see our children learn together how to love one another and foster real relationships. So far this year is going really, really well and I couldn't be more pleased.
Thank you Jesus!