Hands On, Field Trip, and Fine Arts Learning

 It's been quite the busy week. While I work on this edition of Collage Friday feeling QUITE worn out, I'm happy with everything we learned and accomplished this week!

Truth be told, we've had a lot of book work and stay at home studies this semester. I'm learning, as the year progresses, how to adjust work loads and how to manage time better so we can take more field trips and spend more time on things like music and art. 

This week was well balanced - so I deem it a success!

Hands On With Classical Conversations

We are on week 10 of Foundations/Essentials and week 12 of Challenge B. Soon first semester will be complete.

I snapped the above shots during our Essentials class on Tuesday. I wish you could be there to see our class of children sitting with their white boards eager to learn English Grammar. When our tutor, Miss Lisa, asked the children to work in pairs to diagram sentences the children could choose easy or hard.... Grant and his friend chose HARD.

Well - this sentence was so hard even the moms had to ask for help! Our big joke is the word "Adjectival" - isn't that official sounding? Adjectival clauses, Predicate Adjectives, Predicate Nominatives - all of this is becoming a part of our vocabulary, and I love that good friends get to tackle hard things together.

Meanwhile, in Challenge B, this week was Shoe Box Science! The students have studied a scientist each week so far - Curie, Einstein, Copernicus, Faraday, Morse - and others. To wrap up this history of science strand each student was given a scientist and had to design a shoe box to represent their scientist - without anyone else knowing who their scientist was.

Anna's scientist was Michael Faraday - she had a great time making clay figures and customizing her shoe box. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed watching the students guess whose shoe box was whose! 

This week I published the November CC Blog Carnival, in which I gave my thoughts about the rigor of Classical Conversations. It's all making sense to me now that we are in our second year of CC. I cannot imagine homeschooling any other way right now. 

Trail of Tears Field Trip

This was one of the weeks where dad was home, so we took the day on Friday and journeyed a couple hours north of Atlanta to visit the Major Ridge Home - which was a site on The Trail of Tears. The details surrounding this home and Major Ridge are VERY interesting. 

In short, this was the site where The Treaty of New Echota was signed, ceding the Cherokee lands in Georgia for territory in Oklahoma. It was the beginning of The Trail of Tears, and eventually Major Ridge, his son, and his nephew were murdered because of their part in the signing of the treaty. 

What a sad time in our nation's history.

We found the history here just so fascinating - the museum was quaint and set up nicely for the kids. 

We saw an archaeological site and also the original logs from the Major Ridge log cabin home which have been preserved inside the home. 

History was never my forte or favorite subject when I was in school, but now I LOVE history - my husband has always been a history buff, so now I feel like we share this love. 

Homeschooling is pretty awesome, isn't it? 

Berry College Field Trip
 

While in Rome, GA, we also rode through Berry College and attended one of their football games. Our cousins plays football for Berry, so we had MUCH fun! It was probably the COLDEST we have been in some time, but good company makes you feel warm! 

*An interesting side note: our Essentials tutor went to Berry as well, so we had even more reason to love this beautiful college nestled in North Georgia! It's mind blowing to think that in four years we will be getting ready to send Anna to college. (sniff)

SQUILT Christmas Carols

My birthday (Nov. 3) ushered in a new SQUILT volume: Christmas Carols.

This volume consists of five carols, and it is my prayer that it allows families to share and analyze beautiful music with their children. I'm so excited with the user feedback I have been receiving! 

I did the first lesson (Carol of the Bells) with Anna and Grant this week. They LOVED it.... I think it's because I try to include version of the music that appeal to all types of listeners. Anna was enamored with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's performance, while Grant preferred the sillier Carol of the Bells performed by the Muppets! 

Of course, I snuck in all of the essential music vocabulary and also some copy work; listening to music makes those things fun. 

Whatever your likes or dislikes, there is something for everyone in this volume, and - in honor of my birthday - you can use the code BIRTHDAY to receive 25% off ANY SQUILT VOLUME until next Monday! 

I think that's our week in a nutshell -- next week will be short because we are traveling to South Florida to visit family and help my dad (who is doing SO MUCH BETTER!) celebrate his birthday. 

How was YOUR week? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

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