School Update

Well. 

It's the middle of April.

Already.

We are on the homestretch of the school year, and I'm sitting here with eyes glazed over and am fixated in thought about how fun, spontaneous, and quick this year has been. Last spring I stepped away from a homeschooling mindset and a routine that had dampened our spirits and dulled our interest in learning. This year was the refresher we all needed - and we had the gift of spending several hours each week with other families that were taking a year to be intentional and slow down the pace and expectation of learning.

It has been a gift.

Earlier in March, we joined friends for some anatomy fun and dissection. The more the merrier when it comes to scalpels and formaldehyde. 

First up: sheep brains. 

Next up: cow eyes. And yes, they are really big!

Of all that we've dissected this year, the cow eyes were my favorite.

Slicing and dicing cow eyes proved quite dangerous, but six Angry Bird band-aids later and we were back in business. 

Some school days are simple: a couple hours of seat work in the morning and then an afternoon venturing through a museum or exploring outside with friends. But no matter what. always reading. Lots and lots of reading. 

Standardized testing next week. Co-op ends in two weeks. We clock the "required" school days in four weeks.

And I'm in no hurry to rush it because this year has been what we needed. And then some.

School Lately

We've reached our 100 days of school, but because we've been here, there, and everywhere the past couple of weeks we've yet to have our party for it. Here's a small glimpse into some of the learning fun we've enjoyed...

Discussing different blood types.

Pricking fingers to test our blood type... some more excited than others!  

 

 

 Mixing blood with water and other fancy-named chemicals to get our results.

 

 

 Waiting for the blood sample to display an A, B, AB, or O positive or negative.

 Proudly showing pricked fingers with band-aids!

Learning about the components of blood with various food representations.
- Red blood cells = Red hot cinnamon candies
- White blood cells = White beans
- Blood platelets = Lentils
- Plasma = Karo syrup

 Mixing it all together to gain understanding on quantities and purposes of each component.

 

Discovering the efficiency and effectiveness of the heart's steady rhythm.

The heart pumps one and a half gallons of blood each minute, and we tried to replicate that by scooping a quarter cup of water again and again into a bowl until we reached one and a half gallons. Our effort was to do this neatly and in one minute - like the heart - and we failed each time. But we had fun! And got wet! And (maybe?) learned something!

Making edible hearts - because eating and learning go hand in hand.

Right and left atrium, right and left ventricles, superior and inferior vena cava, and pulmonary artery and vein.

High Sugar + Big Mess + Fun Friends = Science Lesson Win

Dissecting sheep hearts! All suited up and ready to go.

Oops! This lil crawler was curious about sheep hearts, but Annalyse kept him away while his mamma helped other kids.

(Why does he look like a MAN?!)

(Why is he the cutest nerd ever?!)

We interrupt all things pertaining to science to bring you this picture, proving that we do have riveting literature analysis discussions, followed by edge-of-your-seat poetry readings.  

 

Studying... um... social studies? Phys ed? Who really cares. We meet friends weekly for park dates, board games, birthday parties, and, when it's cold and rainy, the arcade. 

Because it does a mom's heart good to watch a gaggle of kids run and play and laugh while we enjoy our own kind of recess!