Friday, July 25, 2014

The Ancient Maya, a history project



Before our mid-year break,
Lu had two weeks to focus on a history project
about the Ancient Maya.

At least once a year,
Lu works on an independent project
that involves research, a deadline, and a presentation.


I only helped with the final editing,
and double checking historical dates.


Lu planned out his project with a timeline
and checklists, and worked several hours a day,
with short breaks in between

for puppy time


and guitar practice.
 
  
Once he was done with the research,
he printed and organized his information and images.


It's hard for me to not get involved sometimes,
so I left him at the stationary shop with generous funding,
to choose his materials. 


And then came the putting-together part!

I was only allowed in the room to take some pics.


But after this one, 
I was informed that it was the last time I could come in 
until he was ready to give his presentation.


On the Friday before our break (the deadline)
Lu was finished with his project at 8:30pm.











Throughout the project, Lu mentioned several times
how "professional" this kind of work made him feel,
and that he really enjoyed it :)


Great job, Lu!!!


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


Now we're on a three-week break,
just chillin' with friends and taking it easy
after six months of hard work and loads of learning.

 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Puppies.... and some other stuff


We've been busy, busy with puppies
and projects.

Lu is working on a research project
about the Ancient Maya,
and making great progress despite
the computer room also being a puppy nursery.


A friend recently brought us Momo by Michael Ende
(author of Never Ending Story)

Lu is loving this book! 


It's about an orphan girl who lives in an abandoned park,
something about "the men in gray",
and a weird street where time warps...

I haven't actually read the book, but Lu's been
telling me all about it and it sounds pretty trippy.

 This coming week is our last before a three week break.


Which fits perfectly with the puppies just starting
to become a handful.


The river was running strong,
so we went out to build our annual dam
for a swim hole.






 Lu's been doing "Circuit Training" for P.E.
We come up with a 3-minute circuit
and he goes through it as many times as he can.

(and there's a window from our bedroom
to the dance studio because... 
it seemed like a good idea when we were building?)








The puppies had their first outing
into the yard the other day,
and felt sunshine for the first time!