36 ÷ 6 = 6 Things We Are Excited About

I was thinking the other day that we have just finished up our 6th week of school out of 36 total weeks. So there are six, six week sections to the year and there are six of us including the kiddos and me so I thought it would be fun to do a blog post every six weeks during the year where we each tell what we are excited about that we have studied so far! That way by the end of the year we will have 36 total things. If that made any sense at all...keep reading.

So far we have visited the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and we have begun to touch on Japan. We have also discussed Lincoln, People of different World Cultures, Missionary Stories of great intrigue as well as learning addition, language and fiction and non-fiction writing. We are on a roll and are having a blast with all of the new things we are discovering. Each of us has a thing of special interest to share so here goes...

James is excited about his new Teaching Textbooks math curriculum. In it he is reviewing much of what he has learned already, but he is also discovering the world of practical math. The other day he informed me that he will not be buying a car any time soon. To which I said, "Oh?? Why is that?" He replied that according to his math book it would be a poor investment to purchase a car unless you had the cash to do so. You see he is learning about interest payments as well as the depreciation of items. His conclusion is pay cash!! Did I mention I love this math program?? He is also learning about gross vs. net pay and that old Uncle Sam takes more than his fair share of your money when you enter the workforce. I guess working for mom and dad isn't such a bad thing huh James???

Peter is excited about our study of Australia. He learned while studying about the country that it was originally settled by prisoners sent there by Great Britain. Great Britain was looking for a way to get rid of some of the prison population in their country and so they shipped them off Down Under. Until they realized that perhaps they would actually like to live there as well and they stopped shipping convicts and began immigrating themselves. Peter also enjoyed learning more about the aborigines culture and discovering that he is quite good at aboriginal painting.

Emma was enthralled as were we all with our latest read aloud book entitled The Master Puppeteer. This was our first glimpse into the culture of Japan which we will dig deeper into this coming week. It is about a boy who is living in very poor conditions in Japan and ends up moving to the Hanaza Theater where he learns all the ins and outs of puppeteering. The awesome thing about this book that was so different from many books we have read was the mystery involved in the story. It was truly a page turner and we even finished it a week early just so that we could find out the ending.

Daniel even listened in on this particular read aloud and it kept his attention so much that he said it was one of his favorites as well. This is awesome because it was all on his own initiative to come and listen. We are making some progress I think!! His other love has been our brief study in their language book about President Lincoln. He created some very nice sentences describing the former President and he informed me that he was brave as well as honest!!

Ana was the first to come and tell me what she was excited about when I asked each of them to come up with something. She has been excited to learn some safety rules in our health book and what to do and not do when you come across a stranger. She informed me that you do not talk with strangers but it is okay to talk with a police officer and tell him or her where you live and what your phone number is. She has her address, phone number and both her daddy and my names down pat and feels confident she would be able to tell someone if she were ever to get separated from us. This is one of those things that I pray will never be necessary, but I'm thankful that she knows and is excited about remembering!

I have to admit, Peter stole my original idea about Australia :). I learned a lot during that study and the fact that it was settled by convicts was news to me. But I have also enjoyed learning about Antarctica as well. I didn't know that a treaty was signed regarding the continent that states that it can only be used peacefully, for research or tourism and no military presence is allowed there unless it is in a rescue type situation. It was fascinating to read about the different expeditions across the frozen land and to learn about the animals that inhabit it. Only a few animals spend their entire lives on the land of Antarctica. The largest is the wingless midge, a tiny fly that only measures 1/2 inch long. Who knew???

As you can tell we have been quite busy around here. We are marveling at all the possibilities that the year continues to hold in store for us. Stay tuned for the next update after we finish week 12!!