Magic School Bus: Just in Time for Halloween

Capitol Day 2011

Our homeschool co-op attended the Homeschool Day at the Capitol this past week. It was a great time - and especially fun to attend with friends! We went last year for the first time so now we look forward to going again every year.

My friend, Rusti, has a brother, Rick Brinkley, who was recently elected Senator and represents the Owasso area. I also know Rick because he was our pastor when we first moved here and he dedicated Mackenzie when she was a baby. He's a great guy and I know he's going to do an amazing job in politics because he's such a servant of the people. I remember several years ago, Steve had to have an emergency appendectomy and he met us at the hospital with tooth brushes, tooth paste, snacks and anything else we might have needed for our stay at the hospital. Such a thoughtful guy!

I digress! So Rusti's daughter got to actually sit with Rick at his desk during their morning legislative meeting. I thought that was such a neat experience for her! Rick's personal assistant then took us on a tour of the Capitol building.

Here's pics from our fun day...

After our visit to the Capitol, we went to the OKC Science Museum...

Then we went to see my dad and step-mom's family. The girlz had dinner with them...

and cake...

while I went to dinner with some old friends I hadn't seen in a long time...

Debbie, me, Tracie & Kristi

Love those girls! Tracie, Kristi and I grew up together from about kindergarten to 6th grade then they moved away and we lost touch. We've recently found each other again on facebook and it's been so fun catching up with them and seeing pics of their sweet families on-line. Kinda makes me feel like we've never lost touch! 

It was such a fun day! I look forward to doing it all over again next year!

If Earth Was a Golf Ball

This video was played at our church yesterday. It's by Louie Giglio and called "How Great Is Our God". It's one of the best messages I've ever heard - especially great if you don't believe in God or if you are questioning your faith. It sure puts things into perspective of how small we are and how great God is.



If you liked that video, you'll like this one sung by Chris August.

Mad Scientists Have Invaded Our House!

The girlz decided to play "mad scientists" this morning - complete with safety goggles, name tags, rubber gloves and "lab coats". They told me to "Skid-addle, Mom. This is serious business." In other words, "We don't want you to see the mess we're making and stuff we're getting in to." Here's a few pics from their "experimenting"...

The "laboratory", a.k.a. the "lavatory"...

Squirting water on Nerds candy - enjoying the "fizzle" sound...

Their version of "dry" ice...

The scientists...

The best place to buy science experiments for kids in our town is Classroom Corner. They have a great selection of concoctions!

Making C.S., a.k.a "Cool Slime"...

Mixing chemicals...

Love that goop!

Making a lava lamp...

Watching the ingredients bubble...

I'm thinking this Saturday morning should count towards our school hours ;-)

The girlz just love science and one of their favorite science dudes is Bill Nye the Science Guy. We have lots of his videos posted on our homeschool site here. Just go to the right-hand column and scroll down to "Bill Nye Videos Used on This Site". There's lots of topics from germs to nutrition to the sun. Check him out!

Prairie Primer/Little House on the Prairie - Week 2

Here's what we've been learning in school this week...

MULES

Grand Canyon Mule Rides
Raising Mules
What Is A Mule?
Mule Characteristics
Mule Facts
Mules at A to Z Animals


MALARIA & MOSQUITOES


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mosquitoes at Enchanted Learning
Stop Malaria - Donate a Mosquito Net

WOLVES

Wolf Printouts at Enchanted Learning
Wolves at National Geographic Magazine
Wolves at Nova
Wolves at the Wild Ones

SNAKES




Snakes at Backyard Nature for Kids
Snake Printouts at Enchanted Learning
Snake Safari at National Geographic Magazine for Kids
Facts About Rattlesnakes

NATIVE AMERICAN LIFESTYLES




Life Style Photos
Native American Facts for Kids
Native American Indian Lesson Plan Links

THE SUN






Sun Printouts at Enchanted Learning
Sun Proof by the CDC
Sun Wise Kids

Prairie Primer/Little House on the Prairie - Week 1

Here's what we've been learning about in school this week...

Mustangs




Horse Lesson Booklet
Horse Lesson Plan Resources
Horse Facts
Horses at Kid's Farm
2,029 Horse Lesson Plans
Horses at Enchanted Learning

HOW TO MAKE MOLASSES

Tim Thrift "Making Molasses" from Macrosystem on Vimeo.

NATIVE AMERICANS/OSAGE INDIANS






Activities to Celebrate Native American Heritage!
Osage Nation
Osage Indian Fact Sheet for Kids
Native Americans Graphic Organizer Worksheet with Map
Native American Crafts for Kids
Odell Borg's Native American Flute Lessons

HEALTH HAZARDS OF CHEWING TOBACCO



PRAIRIE ART

Phoenix Gallery

Little House on the Prairie Art Project Ideas

Purple Prairie Art Gallery

SIMPLE MACHINES

Levers at Enchanted Learning
6 Simple Machines
Machines for Kids
Simple Machines at Kid's Connect

BLOOD AND CIRCULATION

Beautiful Day To Do School Outside!

We had such BeAuTiFuL weather today, we just had to do our schoolwork outside!

Mom's work station :-)

The girlz school desk...
Doing a math project sorting & counting M&M's...
Of course, eating a few, too...
Our Science Curriculum is Apologia Zoology 3. We are learning about habitats and how when animals are camouflaged with their fur or skin, they are harder for prey to find. So we conducted a science experiment camouflaging M&M's in a matching color habitat of construction paper. We discovered the M&M's were more difficult to find if they matched their surroundings.
Then we made Corncob Dolls like what Laura Ingall's used to make and play with.
First we took a corn on the cob...
and took off the husks and silk...
We set the husks and silk aside for later...
Then we scraped off the corn with a sharp knife...
After that, we put the silk on top of the cob for hair, made a face on one of the husks & wrapped it over the "head" and "hair". Then we wrapped them in bandanas. They turned out pretty cute...

The girlz had so much fun playing with the dolls they made. Thank you, God, for this beautiful weather! We love doing school outside :-)

Farewell butterflies!

Well, we released our butterflies yesterday. "M" came up to me and said, "Mom, I think it's time to let the butterflies go be part of nature." I think she really just wants to reuse her butterfly cage to catch more butterflies after these are gone :-) We really enjoyed raising them and watching them grow from caterpillars into beautiful butterflies!

We have butterflies!

In a previous post, I mentioned that we were raising caterpillars and waiting for them to turn into butterflies. Well, the girls woke up yesterday morning to 3 butterflies in their cage & we're still waiting on the 4th. God's little miracles of nature can be pretty exciting ;-)

Our new pets...

The girls are so excited because we are raising Painted Lady butterflies from Insect Lore. (This is probably the closest thing they'll get for a pet for a while - with the exception of the fish "A" received for her birthday.) They are currently in the chrysallis stage & should be turning into butterflies within the next few days. More pics to come soon!

Tulsa Air and Space Musuem

We went to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum today with our family from OKC who came in town for the day. We had a great time sitting in the planes, learning about space & pretending like we were astronauts!

What happens when you mix baking soda & vinegar?

We usually do Science experiments on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week, we learned how vinegar and baking soda react to blow up a balloon (see picture). "A" loves coming up with her own "science experiments". In this same picture, you can see her concoction that she created in her cup. It started out with vinegar and baking soda, but then she added pepper, ice, sugar, and salt. I finally talked her into using all of this pent up energy to mix ingredients to help me mix something up for dinner ;-)

H20 molecules

Last week, we were science nerds and learned about atoms, cells and molecules. We learned that water molecues are made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms and we created H20 models. The pink marshmellows are hydrogen atoms & the green ones are oxygen atoms - and they are held together by bands (toothpicks). More than anything, I think the girls enjoyed eating the marshmellows and getting a sugar kick. Now for a lesson on how sugar creates plaque on your teeth which leads to cavities!!!

Sam Noble Museum

This weekend we had a great time visiting the Sam Noble Museum in Norman, Oklahoma with our cousins from OKC, Oregon & Georgia. While the museum was very interesting to visit, I was a little disappointed in it's pro-evolutionary themes and total lack of a creationism view. Other than that, it was still neat to see.

Roving Reptiles in Owasso...

The Roving Reptiles came and spoke to our Homeschool Co-Op one day last week. The kids had a great time learning about reptiles & even got to pet them. Here's some pics from the show...