31 Day Challenge: Being Rushed Home To

UPDATE (11/11/11):  Life got pretty insane for me and I didn't get a chance to complete as I had desired.  If I get the opportunity--and the burst of inspiration to complete the thoughts that spurred this list--I'll finish these posts and link accordingly.  Otherwise, I'm taking the Creative Memories approach and starting with NOW, catching up the past as I can.  Though, if you've noticed my various "placeholders" in the homeschooling blog, you'll observe the likelihood of this pipe dream coming to fruition. I guess we'll take it as proof that I still bite off more than I can chew--but this is also testament to the fact that I put my family first rather than my pet project/s.  Right??

Planet Earth

I've been bad about posting our finished projects. *sheepish* Pics will have to wait for broadband. (Come on TWC!!)

The boys were fascinated with the launch of Atlantis this summer so we're doing "Space" this season. Lapbooks about Earth are our transition from volcanoes (this summer) and the excitement beyond our atmosphere.

Next is the moon. We need to pull out the telescope that has been loaned to us until the owner wants it back. One day I will finally purchase a Meade ETX!



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Five Little Martians

We're studying "space" this fall, in honor of the completion of the shuttle program. We're starting with a lapbook about Earth as a transition from dinosaurs and volcanoes, then we'll move on to the moon, the solar system, and the galaxy.

So this morning, after reading about what a planet is, Wee-one said he wanted to sing a Martian song. I thought it was going to be a silly, made up song but it wasn't. I was rude and interrupted him after the first verse to ask where it was from. He learned it at a VBS we attended back in June--and he still remembers it!! (mostly)


Five little Martians
Sitting on a crater
Along came a spaceship
And one said:
See you later!

Four little Martians
Sitting on the moon
Along came a spaceship
See you soon!

Three little Martians
Sitting on a star
"Look! They're so far"

Two little Martians
Sitting on Saturn's rings
They got lonely
Then they started to sing

One little Martian
Sitting all alone
Then he got worried
Then he went home
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NatGeo

I just packed 109 editions of National Geographic into one of the cubbies in our main Expedit. Five others are sitting on another shelf--they tie in with some of our studies from this past year.

The gal we picked them up from said she had "a couple years" of NatGeos they were looking to pass on....9.5years is a lot more than I was expecting. I found a place to stash them, but now I feel like I need some way of organizing or categorizing them so it's easier for us to locate ones that ties in with our studies; or to follow-up a line of conversation.

Maybe when we have broadband I can see if there's a master index of NatGeos from the 90s. One more reason I need to invest in Readerware and a cats-eye scanner---make it easier to see what resources we DO have, and where to find them in our house.

Regardless, the kids were fully engrossed throughout the rest of our errands and on the way home. Wonder if we'll find them burrowed in NatGeos in the morning, or if they'll be ankle-deep in Legos (as usual).
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Grandma's Visit

A month later I've realized that we never blogged about Grandma's visit.

We took her to Lego. 

We like to avoid rush hour heading to Lego by heading to a museum earlier in the afternoon.

Wee-one was stoked to finally be able to do the monthly build!

We took her to a park date. 

We spent a few hours at Barnes&Noble (and fetched some Take It to Your Seat centers books for this fall). 

Not this particular workbook, but this brand.

We survived a day without A/C during 90* temps.

A non-functioning blower does iced lines make.

Trying to cool down the baby.  While some would leave a hot baby nekkid, we kept a onesie on him to prevent sticking.

We went to a neighbor's Independence Day cook-out.  

We went blackberry picking and she made us freezer jam. 

We took her to the last two swim lessons (and she enjoyed conversation with Ms. Vanessa) of the first summer session. 

She started reading The Hardy Boys to the boys.

I feel like I'm forgetting some events/activities...

We're eager for another visit! (From either grandmother!!) 

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Property: Micro-Farm

When the bobcat was out to even out the parking area for the relocated driveway, it also rough-cut the bottom tier for the garden beds. The other two tiers will have to be cut by hand for the individual beds. It's the only way I can think of to prevent erosion without massive expense for an expansive retaining wall and stairs. We'll see how it works out, and how long it takes me to accomplish *any* of it. Maybe the building of beds can happen when Grandma is visiting so we can work on prepping them for fall crops.

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Property: Driveway Relocation, Act 2

A second load of gravel arrived last week.

Before we could order it the scrub from the trees that were felled had to be dealt with. The clothesline had to be taken down--which ended up being easy since the poles had unknowingly rusted right where they emerged from the cement blobs. The bobcat had to come out again to even out the side lot.

We need a third load to get a good base for the parking area, but the second load is keeping the vehicles out of the mud for the time being, and we can park at the house rather than on the drive.

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