It's all coming together..

I'm a terrible one for making lesson plans and then not following through.  Take my Aesop's Fables study we started in week 1 for instance.  We didn't get past the third day without tears and everyone seeking refuge in their trusty DS's.  I told myself for the upteenth time to get over it, we're just not curriculum girls.  I put away my painstakingly hand drawn maths problems, and suddenly we were all happy again - free, relaxed, enjoying each other.
Then, suddenly last week I forgot all about that disaster and bought two curriculums.  The girls are really enjoying chemistry, history and art at the moment and these curriculums are based solely on those areas. The first is 'The Elements. Ingredients of the Universe', the second 'Mapping the World with Art'. Both are by Ellen McHenry whose link you will find in the list of links over on the right.
I admit I was nervous about starting these.  We began with the first lesson of MTWWA.  It involved a short reading about the first mapmakers. Then after watching the video of how to draw Mesopotamia we drew it. It was really alot of fun. We then made edible Babylonian cuneiform clay tablets. H's said something about fish and oxen on a heavenly mountain.

 

Throughout the day we practiced drawing the map from memory. H enjoyed it so much that she even drew it the next day on the train.
We continued with Lesson 2 on Friday - reading about Strabo and Eratosthenes, drew the Nile River, and H was able to recall stuff she remembered about Alexandria from reading Horrible Histories books.

The Elements curriculum was just as fun. In addition to that we are learning The Elements song by Tom Lehrer. H can already sing it word perfect, P and I have a long way to go yet!

Our new art teacher was a great success both with students and parents.  She's quiet and kind and allowed the kids to produce some great work with ink, watercolours, native plants and twigs to use instead of brushes.

R's work

H's work

We've been busy this past week, but still found time for Kids Cardio, applying skills learned on Art Academy to paint on enormous canvasses, H teaching R how to paint a sunset, and endless games on The World of Miamiopia (see link on right).

Oh, we also had a great time at niece H's birthday party

A Cave girl and her Cat

..and Opa's birthday too but R was photographer that day so no great pics of that occasion, unless you want to see lots of photos of people's armpits or up R's nose.