Crunch Labs Project: Boomerang Car with Magnets

 We worked on and finished the Car project from Crunch Labs today.  Crunch Labs is an excellent engineering project kit subscription that arrives once a month.  We're almost finished with our first year of Crunch Labs; I think we have four projects left.  Overall, this has been one of my son's favorite learning activities.  I plan to extend for a second year.

The kits are excellent quality and the instructions just couldn't get any better.  The videos are easy to follow and explain the physics behind the project.

https://www.crunchlabs.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoor__130UCrObvvXouQ18hgAUdzf00p-3mZLq1eHsocYrGrRZF4

Here are pictures and videos of the boomerang car my 9 year-old built.  There are magnets on the front of the car, so it can move metal objects.

They give you a little "scoreboard" and every time we complete a project, my son places another gear on the board.

Homeschool Day 10/24

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• We laid on his bean bag chair and read about four chapters of A Lion to Guard Us.  We finished the book
• He also finished A Long Way Westward

Math

• Math card games
• Sleeping Queens
• Math War (addition and subtraction)

Art

• Artistic Pursuits

Extras

• We played basketball at the park

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• ASL Basics
• Mathusee Stewardship
• Dual enrollment classes at the college

College Kids

• Several of them have midterms this week

Homeschool Day 10/23

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• 100 Bible Stories
• A Lion to Guard Us
• Explore Native American Cultures!

Sonlight Readers 3/LA

• A Long Way Westward
• All About Spelling 2
• Freewriting

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• State Bird Study: The Northern Mockingbird

Music & Art

• Piano practice

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• ASL Basics
• Mathusee Stewardship
• Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/22

 Today was our athletic co-op day, so we did not get as much schoolwork finished.  We were also exhausted for some reason.

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• A Lion to Guard Us
• My First Catechism
• Explore Native American Cultures!

Sonlight Readers D/Language Arts

• A Long Way Westward
• Handwriting without Tears Cursive

Math

• Beast Academy

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• Mathusee Stewardship
• ASL Basics
• Dual enrollment classes at the college
• She registered for her college classes for January.  She's taking English 1302 (Composition 2) and History 1301 (US History 1).

Homeschool Day 10/21

 We did our schoolwork outside at the park again today.  

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• A Lion to Guard Us
• Explore Native American Cultures!
• 100 Bible Stories

Sonlight Readers 3/Language Arts

• A Long Way Westward
• All About Spelling 2
• Mad Libs

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Birds in Your Backyard
• Video: 25 Iconic Bird Sounds
• Merlin Bird ID app (Cornell University) - we ID'd a number of birds by their bird calls

Art & Music

• Piano practice

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• ASL Basics
• Mathusee Stewardship
• Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/17

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• My First Catechism
• A Lion to Guard Us
• Explore Native American Cultures!
• A Child's Introduction to Poetry

Sonlight Readers 3/Language Arts

• A Long Way Westward
• All About Spelling 2
• Handwriting without Tears

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka's 4th Grade Science

• Engineered for Flight
• We made paper airplanes

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• Mathusee Stewardship
• ASL Basics
• Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/16

 We did half our school outside at the park again today.

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• A Lion to Guard Us
• 100 Bible Stories
• Explore Native American Cultures!

Sonlight Readers 3/LA

• We finished A Long Way to a New Land
• All About Spelling 2
• Freewriting - he wrote a short story

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Bird Design
• Birdwatching - we went to the park and looked for birds.  He ID'd an American Kestrel.

Art & Music

• Artistic Pursuits - he did his drawings at the park
• Piano practice - Alfred's Book 2

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• ASL Basics
• Mathusee Stewardship
• Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/15 + Barn Owl Pellet Lab

 This is our athletic co-op day, so we have a shortened school schedule today.

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• My First Catechism
• A Lion to Guard Us

Sonlight Readers 3/LA

• A Long Way to a New Land
• Handwriting without Tears cursive

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka's 4th Grade Science

• Bird Design
• Birdwatching outside again
• Barn Owl Pellet Lab - we bought an owl pellet kit and dissected it, identifying the skeletal remains we found.  We looked at some of the teeth and bones with the hand microscope.

Here are pictures from the Barn Owl pellet dissection:

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• Mathusee Stewardship
• ASL Basics
• Dual enrollment courses at the college

Homeschool Day 10/14

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• 100 Bible Stories
• Explore Native American Cultures!
• A Lion to Guard Us

Sonlight Readers 3/Language Arts

• A Long Way to a New Land
• All About Spelling 2
• I'm and Won't, They're and Don't: What is a Contraction?

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Bird Design
• We went birdwatching and identified a Bluejay and Mockingbird

French with Mr. Innes

• Colors

Art & Music

• Just the Facts 2
• Alfred's Piano Course 2

12th Grader

• Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
• Mathusee Stewardship
• ASL Basics
• Dual enrollment courses at the college

 

Field Trip 10/10: Log Cabin Village

 We took a field trip today to Log Cabin Village in downtown Fort Worth.

https://www.logcabinvillage.org/

This is a great, simple field trip if you go during the day before traffic kicks in.  It's just a few blocks from the Fort Worth Zoo.  You can check out a free digital pass for up to four people if you have a Fort Worth library card.  Otherwise, there's an entrance fee, but it's not too expensive (like $6-7 a person).

The gift shop has a lot of very inexpensive wooden toys, embroidery kits, crafts, etc.  I bought the 9 year-old a ceramic bird whistle.  You fill it with water, blow into it and it sounds like a bird singing.

This field trip went very well with Sonlight D (US History 1).

Homeschool Day 10/8

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• A Lion to Guard Us
• My First Catechism
• Sonlight Readers 3
• A Long Way to a New Land

Language Arts

• All About Spelling 2
• Handwriting without Tears Cursive

Math

• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Cold-blooded vertebrates
• We also made crystals from a crystal kit

Art & Music

• Artistic Pursuits

12th Grader

Classical Literature

• She finished reading Beowulf
• We watched the TED ED video "Everything You Need to Know to Read Canterbury Tales"
• She started The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Mathusee Stewardship

ASL Basics

Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/7

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• A Lion to Guard Us
• 100 Bible Stories
• Explore Native American Cultures!
• He made the Cherokee Booger Mask
• Sonlight Readers 3
• A Long Way to a New Land

Language Arts

• All About Spelling 2
• Handwriting without Tears

Math

• Math flashcards
• IXL 4th Grade Math Workbook
• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Vertebrates

Art & Music

• Alfred's Piano Book 2

12th Grader

Classical Literature

• Beowulf

ASL Basics

Mathusee Stewardship

Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/3

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• We were so engrossed with Pocahontas and the Strangers that we sat and read about five chapters, finishing the book

Sonlight Readers 3

• He finished Clara and the Bookwagon

Language Arts

• Handwriting without Tears
• Parts of Speech on the dry erase board

Math

• Two minute flashcard drills: addition, subtraction and multiplication
• We played the board game The Mathemagical World

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• We finished and reviewed the entire plant section

Art & Music

• Artistic Pursuits

12th Grader

Classical Literature

• Beowulf

Mathusee Stewardship

ASL Basics

Dual enrollment classes at the college

Homeschool Day 10/2

 4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• We finished The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
• Pocahontas and the Strangers
• 100 Bible Stories
• My First Catechism

Sonlight Readers 3

• Clara and the Bookwagon

Language Arts

• All About Spelling 2
• Cool, Whoa, Ah and Oh (Interjections)
• Schoolhouse Rock video "Interjections"

Math

• IXL 4th Grade Math Workbook
• Beast Academy

Abeka 4th Grade Science Textbook

• George Washington Carver - we watched a BrainPop video about him

Art & Music

• Piano practice

12th Grader

Classical Literature

• Beowulf

Mathusee Stewardship

ASL Basics

Dual enrollment classes at the college 

• She has the second highest grade in her English class with a 102% on her first essay

Homeschool Day 10/1

Today was our athletic co-op day, so we didn't do too much schoolwork.

4th Grader

Sonlight D (history, Bible and literature)

• My First Catechism
• Pocahontas and the Strangers
• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
• Explore Native American Cultures!

Sonlight Readers 3/Language Arts

• Clara and the Bookwagon
• Handwriting without Tears Cursive

Math

• IXL 4th Grade Math Workbook

Abeka 4th Grade Science

• Plants without Seeds

French with Mr. Innes

• Review

12th Grader

Classical Literature

• Beowulf

Mathusee Stewardship

ASL Basics

Dual enrollment classes at the college