October Wrap Up

 

I say this each month but I can't believe October is already over.  No Halloween here today.  We are pretty much skipping it including the "Trunk or Treat" at church.  We will have a family game night which will include candy but otherwise today is like any other.  After a bit of grumbling and complaining the older kids have come to terms with it and seem to be looking forward to a night together as a family.  October in general has been super duper busy and I am glad to have a break from Soccer (practice 4x a week plus weekend games), Race Season, and Saddle Club Shows.  I love watching each of the children work hard and excel at things they love but there are seasons where it becomes overwhelming and fall is one of them.

Science is a subject we always have lots of fun with.  We are learning about Flying Creatures of The Fifth Day, through a curriculum from Apologia.  Today we learned about how birds use their wing and tail feathers to slow them down when they land.  We used umbrellas to simulate a bird landing.  We also learned about the "gooney bird" who God made to land on water and how when he lands on land, he does not have the ability to slow himself down and typically lands on his head and does several somersaults before stopping.  The kids enjoyed reading about this silly bird over and over. 

Not all of our science experiments turn out.  Another experiment this month was to get two identical bird feeders and fill them with two different types of bird food.  We watched to see what birds enjoyed the food and which they liked best.  We found out that the squirrels appeared to like to food more than the birds and that they are smart enough to chew through the twine and knock the bird feeders to the ground.  Part of learning is problem solving.  We intend to find a place to hang them where the squirrels can't get to them so easily and try try again.

 

Nature hikes and time outdoors in the leaves were definitely a highlight this month. We spent lots of time gathering nature for our nature boxes and to use in fun art and craft projects. The leaves were so vibrant and we took time to stop and enjoy God's creation. Mom even took a moment or two to be crafty and modge podged some of the beautiful leaves onto some jars to make into candle holders. Yes the originally idea came from pinterest...didn't say I was creative!

 

Bentley got to spend some time with a Reining Champion and Horse Trainer at a clinic.  Sammy was a reining horse in his previous life and Cal was able to give Bentley some pointers on reining.  She and Sammy were able to show off a bit and this mama sure was proud of both of them.   Bentley's trainer Kellie has literally been a God-sent and we are blessed with the many opportunities that she gives Bentley to learn and have fun with her riding.

Vaeh learned that watching Sesame Street while in this position sure is fun.  Then she rolls off on to the floor, with a big thud, jumps up and yells "I OK"!  It is a bit distracting during homeschool but a nice humor break for all of us!  Life would be so boring without this "cheese ball".


 Gracen learned that if you stand on your tippy toes on this push car you can reach the lock on the back door. If you balance carefully you can unlock it and then pull the handle. If you are really lucky and someone has forgotten to latch the lock on the top of the screen door, you can get out to the backyard to play in the leaves.  Needless to say these two little ones explore and learn right along with us.  There is never a dull moment around here!

Daddy learned that Bentley's hair makes cool flames on your undershirt when it is wet.  He may start a graphic design business with his newest discovery.  He is still looking for His Invention that will make us millions.  You never know this could be it!





 

Don't worry we did lots of Math, Spelling, Reading and Writing and a little history/geography as well this month.  Payton is reading Call of the Wild and Bentley is enjoying Anne of Green Gables.  We are still listening to Swiss Family Robinson on Books Should Be Free.   I continue to work hard to include Art Lessons at least weekly if not more and have found a website for Mark Kistler from PBS that helps teach the kids to draw, since I am artistically challenged.  I often join them because you are never to old to learn!  We are looking forward to studying about Thanksgiving and I have a Virtual Field Trip Planned to the Plimoth Plantation.  That's about it in a nutshell!