Fossils!

Today, I took the kids to a very interesting museum. Here is the link to it: http://fossiles.qc.ca/index.php It took many hours of driving to get there but it was well worth it. We first had a picnic at the park before going in.

A few pictures from our picnic:







Once in the museum, the kids said hi and started asking questions. The guide could barely answer one question before two more were asked. She was very patient and I thank her for that. The continuous exhibition was *200 Million Years before the Era of the Dinosaurs* and we enjoyed looking at it. We got to see montage of the Earth, the continents as they were so long ago and more importantly, we saw fossils and learned how they became fossils. It was all very easy for the kids to understand and when they wanted more details, they were not shy, they asked for more. They each had a magnifying glass (??) and were excited to go from one podium to the other and find out more about each fossils.









Mathieu signing milk, which he got. Ah, the simplicity of nursing on demand.













Ali took this picture:



Alexandra and Mathieu having fun:



After that, we went on a mini-safari: we went to look for our own fossils, the ones we could bring home! William was veyr lucky, he found many very quickly and his were HUGE! Catherine found two, Zachary found one and... a ant house. I know, not the right word but ykwim. Alexandra was lookking for her own fossils but at 2, I think she was more interested in just running around, going from me to her siblings. She even brought a bottle of water to our guide, lol.













This was really an amazing experience, one I am anxious to repeat. We had such a great time. And now, we are ready to start SOTW. Tomorrow. The kids said our vacation lasted long enough, it is time to start homeschooling again. So funny.

The final week

of getting things ready and *resting* before we start homeschooling again.

Ah, that was a nice summer. It was so fun to not even think about homeschooling. Lol, I realise that what I jsut wrote is so untrue. What I mean is not having to homeschool for two months. I love thinking and researching what we will use and what I need to get to make our learning more fun. I know I often go overboard as far as getting things but this is fun for me. It is fun for the kids also. And I know I am doing it right because they have been asking to homeschool again for many weeks now. They are getting anxious to learn, to read, to do the crafts I have planned, to learn more Sign Language and more Spanish, to do the trips I have told them about.

Speaking of trips. If the weather permits, we will be going on a dinosaur dig next weekend! I cannot wait, it is going to be SO much fun. I wanted to wait until we do chpater one of SOTW but the site closes after Labor Day. Oh well, we will visit first then learn after.

I ahve to admit that I also found a very special prehistoric game for the kids. They wanted to play with it right away but I told them they needed to wait until we learned about the cavemen and all. Lol, another reaso why they want to start homeschool asao, hey? New games, new books, new globe, new crafts, new dvds (I got them the series about the Earth and the dinosaurs and have let them watch it as often as they asked. It is so interesting.), and soon, a new school room. I told them that they will be able to cuddle in front of the fireplace and read books together once the room is done and they have been talking about almost everyday. Wonder if we can grill marshmellows in an electric fireplace? :p

SOTW1 - How Do We Know What Happened?

Here is all we will use and do for the introduction. I will post all the pages and pictures of what we will have done soon.

How Do We Know What Happened?









First, we will read the first part of the intro: What is History? After, we will read this book:



Then, we will do our own family tree. We might also take a look at this book and see which writting project would work for us.



The rest of the week (yes, we will be skipping the other two activities), we will read books on the planet, on fossils, about archeology, on volcanos and do some fun things.

















It looks like a lot but we will take an entire week for this intro. I plan on getting a volcano model and have fun with the kids.

On Friday, we will read the part *What is Archeology* and talk about it. We will finish the week by reading these books:





The next weekend, if the weather permits, we will take the kids on a dinosaur dig weekend a few hours from where we live.

Other activities planned: go look at the archaeology digs in a park a few hours from here, bake some stone cookies (What are they called in English? No idea but I will post the recipe later on) and we will paint beautiful things on some stones.

P.S. I will post pictures of each of our activities, like the family tree, the volcano, the digging and more.

SOTW1 - Almost ready to start

I have been happily getting things ready for our new history project this year. We are going to do Story of the World 1, Ancient Times. If you know me, you know I go all the way as far as planning and buying for our projects. I even went as far as look for extra craft projects for each chapter and I found some really nice ones.

Keep reading for more details.

Signing- A Third Language

My kids will soon be trilingual!!! They alrayd speak French and English and now, learning ASL is coming along so well. By the end of the year, they will be able to say they *speak* three different languages!

After watching the two Baby Signing Time dvd's, I saw how fast the kids (and I, lol) were learning sign language and were hooked on it. I ordered season 1 & 2 (along with the cd's). We have been watching a new dvd every week now and itis so much fun to be able to communicate without talking. Alexandra often comes to me ans signs that she wants to watch Baby Signing Time. I love that and I am so proud of her.

I printed off all the free activities from the site and made a book with them. As we use a new dvd, we will do the activities. Most are crafts, my kids favorites.

Now, in case you are wondering, yes there are a few more things I want to get for signing, like books and a bingo game and also, maybe some flash cards for the trips?

:D

Catherine's Curriculum

Catherine is my oldest, my *guinea pig*, lol. With her, I test which books work and which way I go with the others. She ha a HUGE passion for learning languages, especially English. She was reading in English long before she was reading in French.

For French, we are continuing to use the Bled series, as it is the very best:





I also got her the red collection of books of Ratus because she loves to keep on reading stories about the green rat:



In English, we are using Sonlight as usual:



I also got her the Electives as she loves anything that has to do with art, painting and music:



And, just to make her very very happy, I got the ARTistic program:



As for math, still using Singapore Math but she will be finishing level 2 before moving on to level 3:



And for writing, Handwriting Without Tears 3:



I think she is going to be happy with her curriculum. Of course, she still has some things to complete from last year first.

William's Curriculum

William's curriculum is a bit more intense than the younger ones. He has more to learn (just like Catherine has more to learn than him).

In English, he uses Sonlight Core 1 with the Electives.



For math, Singapore Math for him too:



I also got him the extra practice books, as he loves doing math.

For writing, he will keep on using Handwriting Without Tears:



In French, he will finish the last of these two series:






Once he is done with those, he will start the second serie of Les Sons. And, he will be able to do the Ratus serie, just like Catherine did. Along with reading the books he has been looking at for so long:







After he is done with all of those, he will do the Bled serie, which is what all the kids will use until college:



Of course, there will be many games, cards, art projects, music lessons, karaté classes, ... It seems like we have so much to do, to learn, to see but so little time to do it all. Good thing we are homeschooling because I would be miserable. We are already planning next summer's vacation!