It doesn’t seem like much has changed this year since we are still finishing some books and are continuing to use a lot of the same curriculum, just the next book. But I’m going to share what we’re using as a record here and maybe it will help someone who is looking for what might be right for their kids.

Even though one daughter is entering 9th grade and transcripts, I’m still trying to keep history and science something we do all together. Doing 3 different histories and sciences doesn’t appeal to me at all. It’s just easier to work together on those things. We alternate days, 2 of history, 2 of science and this works so well for us.

Science: Big Bag of Science for experiments and Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner.

On chemistry day I read aloud from the Tiner book then we either make a notebook page on what we read or do an experiment. My kids have LOVED these experiments and we are about 2 lessons from being done with them. I’m probably going to move on with another chemistry book with experiments. This by far, has been the most excited I’ve ever seen them about science.

History: All American History + workbook.

On history day I read aloud from the history text and they work a workbook page. We used to do  a history notebook and I kind of miss that. I will probably start doing that again soon, especially with my 2nd grader. He has always been resistant to the notebook, not like my girls who loved it, because he doesn’t love to draw.

Bible: We are in Joshua right now. I read a chapter aloud a day.

Writing/Copywork: Right now we (including me) are all writing a verse a day from a chapter in the Bible. Right below our verse we journal a bit.

Handwriting: (2nd grader only) Italic Handwriting Series.

Phonics: (2nd grader only) Explode the Code

Spelling: (2nd grader only) Spelling Workout (MCP).

Math: They all use Math-U-See

English: older girls use Growing With Grammar. I’ll begin Shurley English this year with 2nd grader.

Reading/Literature: I try to keep a read aloud going all the time. We just finished The Penderwicks and loved it. I’m on the search for our next book. Every day Milo picks an easy reader to read aloud and the girls have books they read. Right now we are using Total Language Plus and they are doing The Bronze Bow.

For art on Fridays, we use Artistic Pursuits.

And that’s it.

When we started chemistry this year I almost bought a poster of the Periodic Table of Elements several times. I always talked myself out of it because they were so plain and boring. I was really sad that Flowerpatch Farmgirl wouldn’t give me hers. I heard she was selling everything. Can I have it for $5 Shannan?

When you can’t find what you want, make it yourself. Well, we tried anyway.

We did that experiment recently with the soda and the Mentos. I bought two cheap sodas in case we wanted to do it twice (but it wasn’t that thrilling). So the drink left on the bar now has a new name. The three year old calls Sam’s soda “science coke.”

“Can I have some of that science coke, mama?” Cracks me up. It is the cutest thing ever.

It may be the new reason I homeschool so that my 3 year old knows the word science.

Don’t worry. Everyone got a chance to paint. Even these two patiently waiting in the background.

We made it all colorful, without regard to any kind of rules or key. We like it that way.

We had fun and we did it ourselves. We used oil pastels to write the abbreviations then painted over them with watercolors.

We’re happy with the results.

Our school year is quickly coming to an end and we are all twitchy with anticipation. Twitchy and snotty and grumpy. We all have head colds and it feels like it would be so much easier to just call this last week off and end school a week earlier than planned. But we press on.

The toddler wakes up ready to go. Ready to paint, ready to open Play Doh, ready to pull ornaments off the tree, all with one finger deep in her nostril. I am easily exasperated. My son reminds her of paci days gone by and sends her into a tailspin. Time out is required for both of us. But we press on.

Everybody  needs help! Including the almost 3 year old who doesn’t even have school work to do, but insists she get her books out anyway and I haven’t even had breakfast. The cat has been missing for over 24 hours, the rooster’s cage if flooded. There seem to be half-eaten Pop Tarts everywhere. The history page I assigned is frustratingly difficult, even for me. But we press on.

I eat breakfast, we find the cat locked in the storage building, we decide on a new history assignment. Then my morning glass of Coke slips out of my hand and crashes onto the tile. Glass, ice and Coke everywhere and no one to blame but me. The three year old has to run in to see what happens and skates across ice, glass, and Coke on bare feet with no injuries.

I wonder once again what’s the harm in cutting out of school one week early. But I clean up the mess, sweeping ice, Coke, and glass into the trash and refilling a fresh glass with my morning Coke, even though it is now well past morning. We press on.

Bed sheets are washing, history is finished, math done. My son reads without complaints, a whole story, a major accomplishment.

We can do this. Only a few more days to go.

This week I posted about our past experience with a Luna moth and posted pictures of the one that just flew into our house the other day.

This morning we found eggs.

I’ll keep you posted.

My favorite science resource this year has been The History of Medicine by John Hudson Tiner. I highly recommend it. It has been an enjoyable and educational read-aloud for all of us.

We have marveled over the doctor’s stubbornness to believe that simply washing their hands could prevent patient death. We were relieved when they perfected anesthesia and no longer had to amputate limbs of awake patients. And now we have learned how scientists continued experiments with the glowing tubes of light without knowing what they were looking for until they stumbled upon incredible X-rays.

Adam, the first man, walked and talked with God and had marvelous knowledge about God’s awesome creation. After the fall of man, our minds deteriorated, so much knowledge was lost. We now fumble around in the dark amazing ourselves with the simplest revelations. There’s so much we’ll never understand this side of heaven.

In our chemistry experiment we watched tiny solid beads swell, when water is added, to 10 times their size. It has to do with molecules, things we can’t even see with our eyes.

Then we had a picnic and watched ants find our location within minutes and cart off chips 10 times their size.

We are constantly amazed.