Behind Our House

there is a mountain, and twice a week

we round up our 6-pack of dogs and head out for a hike.

7 minutes into our uphill trek, we turn around and see this:

Pic of a flower that Lu took:

18 minutes into our hike and we reach the first river crossing.

A few weeks ago we had to turn back because

the river had grown too much to cross.

But the rains are gone now, 

and the mountain is full of yellow and purple flowers.

At 35 minutes, we reach our destination:

 And back down we go.

I love our mountain walks.

They keep me sane.

We mostly walk in silence,

with some distance between us.

The silence is so good for both of us.

Sometimes there's also laughter

or discussion.

Sometimes there's even math practice

or science review.

Other times there is sharing of feelings.

 But there is always one foot in front of the other.

 So simple. So powerful.

Intermittent Schooling, Anatomy, and Christianity

Project activities start up again next Monday (we run an art school downstairs, seven months a year for about 70 kids), which means that our homeschool load will lessen significantly with Lu participating four half-days weekly of dance, arts&crafts, circus arts, theater, and singing. 

Our school year is divided up between light homeschool months with project activities, and heavier homeschool months without. 

Given that we take a month and a half off for homeschool vacation time, I have 3.5 months a year to teach new concepts and really sink our teeth into researching and Unit Studies.

Lu's been helping make an educational board game for the project. It's a life-size Chutes & Ladders (or Snakes & Ladders) type game, so the participants move and stand directly on the board.

 

I've been worried that we won't have another "project-free" month until September/October, and have been cramming stuff into our schedule to get it all in before the chaos begins. 

I imagine there are lots of homeschoolers who break their year up like this for different reasons like travel, seasonal work, short-term projects, farming, touring...

 *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

We've been using this Awesome Anatomy Site.

Respiratory System

Circulatory System

 Excretory System

 As part of our unit on Ancient Rome,

we studied the life of Jesus Christ

and the history of Christianity.

It was pretty intense.

We read from our book about religions,

and Lu took graphic notes along the way.

We also watched National Geographic's "Jesus, the Man"

We had a heavy conversation about capital punishment, and Lu wanted to know what types still exist around the world today. I didn't want him to see photos of stonings and hangings, so I did the research alone and then answered his questions. I could see a spectrum of feelings come over his face - confusion, fear, horror, pain, sadness, and then rage. "How could they do those terrible things?" and "If they had to kill them, couldn't they have done it painlessly at least?"

And of course there were questions about what I - mama - thought about everything they say about Jesus. "Could it be true that he came back from the dead?" and "Do you believe that an angel really talked to Jesus' mom?"

I want him to know the story behind the beliefs of the 30-something percent of the people sharing the planet with him, and not just my version of it. I try to be unbiased, and precede any personal beliefs with, "This is what I have a tendency towards believing, but it doesn't mean it's a truth...". Nevertheless, he's quick as a whip to question and even scoff at certain parts of the story that are incompatible with what he already believes about the physical world through his exposure to science.

So we also talked about respect, and appreciating the beauty in all the different religions, even if we don't agree with them. I do also try to cultivate a distrust of scientific dogma.

Lu made a final poster today.

 

 And then flopped down with a big TGIF sigh.

 

It's been a long week.

Crepes à la Lu

Lu is going through a crepe craze, and we're hoping it lasts :) 

He learned the recipe from his grandmother, and has been making fresh batter every other day. I insist on our egg&veg scramble on alternating days.

 

I remember seeing pictures of children cooking and baking in homeschool blogs, when we first started homeschooling. At the time, I couldn't imagine Lu being that independent in the kitchen. Homeschooled kids looked so cool, interesting, and skilled.

Yesterday, one of Cha's clients came over when Lu was making crepes, and Lu very politely offered him one. The man said to Cha: Well, isn't that the life! and Cha replied: Yup! It's definitely one of the benefits of homeschooling.

We've been having a great time inventing new combinations to try in our crepes. One of my favorites is orange marmalade, fresh strawberries, and macadamia butter. 

Mmmmm.....

Lu usually goes for the Nutella.

On a more academic note: Lu has finished reading about Ancient Mesopotamia, which means we are officially done with History for the year. Although, there are still a few documentaries on Egypt we might watch with lunch.

 After reading, a little quiz on what he learned.

He also worked on a diagram of the nose

for his studies on the 5 Senses.

We've been taking daily walks in the late afternoon. It's been great. We really needed to work on Lu's walking - foot placement, posture, resistance, stride, pace... He had a hard time doing the first 30-minute walks we did (we go fast), but now he's walking hard for an hour with no trouble.