Our Homeschool Journal: Enjoying Fall

I just love fall!  We’re enjoying everything autumn while we can…it seems to fly by in Maine and then winter arrives!  Of course there’s lots of raking and jumping:

In our homeschool this week…

In RSO Biology we continued our study of animals and learned about echinoderms.  The lab using a banana peel to explain their shape turned breakfast into science class!

I’m thankful again for our experiences at the ocean this summer because as we’re learning I can remind them of the real creatures we saw.

My daughter and I are really enjoying WriteShop Junior D.  I need to post a full review soon–it’s one of my best curriculum finds to date.  As we were finishing lesson 2 this week one of the publishing options for her humorous story was to make it into a comic.  We used a printable comic template and she’s been working hard on speech bubbles and character drawings!

Donna Young and her incredible site is my favorite resource this week.  I benefited from her free printables three times this week: once for the comic template, once for a monthly calendar, and lastly for a page with a blank top for illustrating and lines below for writing.  And she had that one with lines in varying sizes so I could find one for both of my kids.

Places we went and people we saw…

We finished with Brazil at geography club this week.  We’ve learned a lot about this country in a fun way.   Topics covered at the meetings have included the history, geography, landmarks, animals and language of Brazil.  We’ve played games, made Carnival masks, and tried foods from the country.  I’m so glad we found homeschool friends and are able to get together regularly.  It’s a sanity saver, and when we combine the socialization for kids and adults with learning opportunities it’s a double bonus!

My favorite thing this week was…

Fall is perfect hiking weather because it is isn’t hot or buggy, and the views with changing leaves are breathtaking.  We headed to Acadia National Park for our longest hiking excursion yet and had a terrific time.  First off we went up Flying Mountain to take in the views of Somes Sound and offshore islands.  The hike itself wasn’t very long, but did involve a bit of actual climbing up and over rocks.  My kids thought this was very exciting.

The hike was not long, so we had lots of exploring time at Valley Cove.  This hermit crab became a nature study topic:

He (and dozens of his friends) fascinated my kids.  He looks quite irritated with me, doesn’t he?  The homeschool mom in me couldn’t help but point out that he is an Arthropod just like insects.  Crustaceans are like the insects of the ocean!  They loved the idea of him looking around for discarded shells.  I rounded it out at home with a couple library books as their interest continued:  The Crab on the Seashore & Eric Carle’s A House for Hermit Crab for fun.

I’d been mistaken and told the kids we’d be seeing a waterfall, which although in Valley Cove is actually on a different hike.  When we finished the first hike everyone was willing to try the second, so off we went.  The historic information I read spurred me on: the waterfall is called Man O’ War Brook waterfall because British war ships used Valley Cove for shelter and would replenish their drinking water using the falls.  What a great story, and though the waterfall is small it was well worth the effort to get there.

Things I’m working on…

I’m still working on our family mission statement and a revamp of our chore system.  We’ve had a lot of great discussions about our family and household this week.  The overriding goal for me right now: do the best I can to use my time wisely, keep my priorities in proper order, and retain the joy in the process.  Lofty goals, I know!

I’m reading…

My current reading goes along with those goals.  I finally finished For the Children’s Sake.  It’s a meaty book and I want to add it to my bookshelf so I have it to read over again periodically.  I am more convinced that Charlotte Mason is a match for our style in many ways, and understanding that helps me make decisions about where to focus our time and energy.  Up next for me is a collection of ebooks I purchased in a benefit sale this week.  I’m excited to dig in because many of the ebooks relate to getting it all done (time management, freezer cooking, cleaning) and enjoying life, too.

Our family continues with Treasure Island and On the Banks of Plum Creek.  There were so many cries for “you can’t stop reading there!” this week that I wish we could just read all day.  They’re both great stories.  My daughter is still reading Poppy by Avi for her library book club, and now Little House by Boston Bay (about Laura Ingalls’ Grandmother) by Melissa Wiley.

A photo to share…

I love playing Bananagrams with my daughter.  We enjoy Scrabble, but since my son is too young to play it’s hard to fit in long games that don’t include him.  Bananagrams is short so it’s easier to fit in.  We also love just playing with the tiles.  Frequently I’ll give my daughter a theme and she can use all the letters to make intersecting words about that theme.  This week called for a “fall” theme.

In case you missed it…

Yesterday I posted 10 fall arts and crafts ideas.  Making things with my kids aligns with my goal of keeping joy in our journey!

Thank you to the wonderful hostesses with fun link-ups on Fridays.

Be sure to join the fun and see what other homeschoolers are up to!