Clouds in a jar.

Since before Strong man and I were married we have agreed we would home school our children.  Way back then we thought that meant from start to finish.  How hard could it really be? Now that we're older and know our kids we've decided to take it year by year.  Last year we sent Man of the woods to school for kindergarten and thought we would do the same for Laughter.  Turns out even that plan changed and both are home being taught by us.  Well, mostly Strong man.

Making the sun out of paper meche, mixing primary colors to paint with.

The plan has always been that we teach together, but I would be the primary teacher.  That is up until last July when I took a full time job, 48 hours of weekly work to be exact.  While I love my job, honestly it's really hard to leave everyday seeing the boys sit around the table doing there school work with Strong man.  For so many reasons it's good that he does the bulk of the teaching.  I've always said he's the better parent.  I think that because he has far more patience then I do.  But still it's very hard to watch life play out differently from my dreams.`

Turning the dining room into a weather system to show the water cycle.  Our pond in the right hand corner, with water evaporating.  Today we made clouds.

Tuesdays are my one day a week that I get to be teacher while Strong man heads off to work.  Since it started off as an art class I don't use any curriculum I take the questions they had last week and turn it into this weeks lesson while throwing in a few things they forget are part of school, such as writing, vocabulary, and spelling.

Today for science we put hot water into a jar with ice sitting on the lid at the top.  We let it sit for a few seconds then we lit a match and threw it in the jar replacing the lid.

We tried this more then once and found that if we added food coloring to darken the water then the contrast made the cloud easier to see.

A cloud began to form moving in a circular direction.  After a minute or so we took the lid off and watched it escape the jar.

Next week we make rain.

Skittle rainbows

Now that work has slowed down some and we're finally getting a rhythm every Tuesday I get to teach the boys. While Strong man puts all the hard work in giving spelling tests, teaching history, and the other day to day kind of school things, I've been able to do some art and science with the boys.  Actually, I'm teaching them science through art.  I love hands on learning.  Its how I learn and how I have always taught others, and now that includes my children.  I have always felt if one knows the "hows" and "whys" of a concept then it will be there's forever.

We started with the color wheel, about primary and secondary colors.

Piece done by Man of the Woods.

Which of course led to rainbows and light waves.

Laughter's master piece.

Rainbows and light waves have lead us to density and the water cycle.

Today we made rainbows out of dissolved skittles.

In each cup we had 2 TBS of water and then added the skittles in this way:
Cup 1 - 10 purple skittles.
Cup 2 - 8 green skittles.
Cup 3 - 6 yellow skittles.
Cup 4 - 4 orange skittles.
Cup 5 - 2 red skittles.

This is not an instant gratification project as it takes about 3 hours for the skittles to dissolve, but the anticipation was half the fun.

Once they dissolved we put the purple in an empty glass first then with a medicine dropper add each color after that, putting the denser colors in first so each color would sit on the other.

And so we got to learn about density through rainbows and skittles.  

For cold winter days.

When life is good, but the cold runs deep, through your bones and straight to your heart.
When there's been plenty of rest to be had, but your eyes still beg for more.
This is choosing to see...

281.  Little boys playing in the snow.  Watching them "swim" through the snow from the kitchen window.
282.  Snow days, when even I don't have to go to work.
283.  Driving through blizzards just Man of the woods and I (shoveling snow together just to get in the store)...
284.  ...And getting stuck in a parking lot together...
285.  ...but while I clean of the windshield little mans prays for help.  We drive safely home.

286.  Power outages that last 5 days.
287.  Reading books by flash light, playing cribbage with friends.

288.  Finding summer time "treasures" hidden away.

289.  The rest a crackling fire brings, and the peace of falling snow.

290.  Family game night while sipping hot tea.
291.  Boys who have finally out grown "Memory" and find joy in games that are a bit more challenging.
292.  Friends over for game nights, full of laughter.

293.  A warm house to live in, a gift we have not forgotten.
294. Reliable cars to drive.

295.  The ideas that come to life when cooped up inside for weeks at a time.

You can't see the giraffe band aid, but it's up on his arm so that the tiger band aid can't eat the giraffe...There were tears and rashes when these little suckers came off...

296.  Hours spent together playing with Legos as a family.  Robots built, tree houses made, and battles had.
297.  Lunch out just to get out of the house, and a little old lady who enjoy watching us so much she paid our bill.
298.  Small boy hands held to keep warm.

299.  Slow days at work to catch up on the small stuff.
300.  Hours spent with my boss learning the fine details.
301.  Asking the same question a hundred ways and answered with lots of patience until I finally get it.
302.  My guys who pop in with a soda to help get me through the long days.
303.  A staff who value the store as much as I do to work beside.
304.  Coffee dates on the phone with housemates who live in the next town over.
305.  The quiet tick of the clock.

306.  Tuesday school with my boys before I head of to work, my only day really.
307.  The science of color.
308.  Sitting on the couch listening to them read books to me.
309.  Babies who are becoming educated boys.
310.  People who ask to babysit my boys, because they are so much fun to be with.
311.  A hubby who teaches them to be good men.
312.  The golden tree tops as the set sun crowns them with its glory.
314.  Full moon traveling home with me.