Electricity

In the kids' co-op science class they have been learning all about circuits and electricity. They got to do cool things like make a flashlight and wire a box house. We are taking three weeks off from history and science, but we are using the time to catch up on little things we haven't finished. So, I thought I'd post some pictures of the kids' houses that they wired. They can turn on lights in each of the rooms. They had a great time wiring, and then decorating their houses. I'll let you guess which one is the girls' house and which one is the boys'.

Week 13

This has been an abnormal week for us because I had parent conferences at work and was at work all day Monday. Plus, we have the Sanchez kids staying with us for most of this week. So, we really just began our history today. We spent some time wrapping up the Ancient Americas to which I didn't feel that we had done justice.. After this week we will be taking three weeks off from history and science. We'll will still do regular (although not daily) math, Spanish, and Latin. We'll use the time to finish up a couple of projects from history and/or science that we have not yet had time to finish. So, week 14 will not be until the first week of January. Perhaps I'll use this time to updat what the kids are doing in their other subjects.

History:

Literature:

Seth's Compare/Contrast Essay from week 11

There are many differences and similarities between the Indus Valley and China during the Ancient times. Both of them were farmers, and they both lived next to a river. One of the main differences is their religions. The Indus Valley region believed in Hinduism, whereas China believed in Taoism and Confucianism. The next thing is government. The Indus Valley believed in the caste system, and China had an emperor. Last, was their writing. The Indus Valley used cuneiform, which was made up of lines and triangles. China used caligraphy which were small pictures that originally looked like the word. All in all there are more differences than similarities.


This is Seth's first attempt at a compare/contrast essay. I would say it is OK for a first draft, but the transitions are a bit stiff and artificial. I think we'll spend some time working on this before we make a final draft.

Week 12- TOG

This week we will be learning about Ancient America. This week we did not have a writing assignment because the kids had quite a bit of work to do in their writing class at our co-op.

History:

Literature:

World View:

I had found this beading loom at a garage sale a few years ago and I remembered how much I had enjoyed making a beaded headband when I was in campfire girls. So, I picked it up, knowing it would come in handy one of these days.

But, I also knew that, while Annsley could handle this detail work, the other kids could not. So, I came up with the genious (if I don't say so myself) of using our cardboard weaving looms and big pony beads to do bead work.

The kids enjoyed the project so much that they decided to do this for their Christmas ornament for the year. Here is a sneak preview of one in progress. It will be a beaded tree.

Here are the projects that Seth finished.