Potter Park Zoo with Cub Scouts- August 29, 2010

On Sunday, August 29 we joined our Cub Scout Pack for an afternoon at Potter Park Zoo. We enjoyed ourselves very much. It was neat to see a few animals up close. Thanks to the zoo camp Zach attended earlier in the summer he was very knowledgeable about the animals we saw. I think that his love of animals will take him far in life as one day he hopes to become a Veterinarian and work in a zoo. Unfortunately, due to ridiculously high temperatures (92 degrees) we did not stay long but we did enjoy the time we spent!

First Day of School 2010- A week in review- August 27, 2010

Our homeschool journey officially began on Monday, August 23, 2010. The day started off with a bang. Zachary was extremely excited to begin and we raced through our day at break neck speed. We finished everything on the agenda in a little over 3 1/2 hours. Our second day was not the greatest. Some attitude issues started to creep in due to the fact that he had to work on things that were not his favorite (writing). To be honest I wasn't surprised. I'm expecting a period of adjustment as this is something very new and different for the both of us. These issues allowed for a lot of discussion and character development, which again is one of the reasons we chose to homeschool for the fourth grade in the first place.
Academically, our curriculum has been somewhat simple and will be for the first couple of weeks. The groundwork is being laid for our study of the world in Science, Bible, and Geography. The majority of our time this week was spent learning about maps, globes, latitude, longitude, hemispheres, etc. Zachary was able to apply for his (fake) passport. He enjoyed filling out his passport application, filling out his check for the passport fee, and addressing the evelope to the passport office. In Science, he has started learning about niches, communities, and environments. In Bible this week he memorized John 3:16 which begins our study of missionaries, and different religions around the world. In Math, we have been doing some review work. Brushing up on some of the skills that may have gotten a little rusty over the summer. Our grammar curriculum, G.U.M. Drops (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics), has been a lot of fun. They are short lessons which Zach seems to enjoy. The greatest success thus far as been our writing program. I cannot say enough good things about Writing Strands! Zachary has always despised the writing process and this program has completely engaged him and is making writing fun. We do have a couple of programs we have yet to start. Spelling, for example, starts during week 3.

Well, that about sums up our first week. I am almost done planning our second week and am excited for what is in store!

Before I end this I have to share a funny story. Sunday night as we were tucking Zach into bed he said, "Mom, aren't you going to lay out my school clothes? I said, "Zach, we homeschool you don't need school clothes." To that he replied with a gigantic grin on his face, "Oh yea I can go to school in my underwear if I want." I promise he was wearing clothes come Monday morning and the pictures above and below are my testament. I couldn't help but laugh at my crazy kid!

Woldumar Nature Center- August 26, 2010

We met up with our Botany Boot-camp friends for a scavenger hunt this morning to help review what we have learned thus far. We broke up into teams of 3-4 kids and hiked throughout the trails looking for samples of things like: a monocot, a dicot, angiosperms, etc. The kids has a lot of fun and were rewarded with GIANT marshmallows at the end.

The weather was beautiful and we were treated to an awesome display of butterflies and hummingbirds.

Look very close to the left side of the feeder to see a hummingbird in action! There was probably 4-5 of them in this small flower garden area. It was amazing! I have never seen that many at one time.

On your mark....get set....go!

I can't believe the start of our first homeschool year is only a couple days away! We made our decision over 6 months ago and at that time it seemed like our start date was so far away. Oh how time flies! I actually am finding myself ready for school, and ready for fall. This summer has been so jammed packed that I can't wait for our season of stillness. Cooler weather, Hot Chocolate, Apple Cider, warm flannel pj's, shorter days, soups, stews, and casseroles, along with the routine of school year life all have great appeal right now.

I've spent the majority of the last couple of days making sure everything is ready. Copies have been made, materials have been sorted, assignments have been planned, and books have been requested from the library. I think that we are as ready as we will ever be! If our family comes to mind next week please pray for success. Oh and patience for me because I'm sure I'm going to need a huge dose of it. On second thought maybe you shouldn't pray for patience...you know what they say about praying for it..... ; )

Frederick Meijer Gardens- July 29, 2010

Today our Botany Boot-camp group headed to Frederick Meijer Gardens for a class on carnivorous plants. To say Zachary was excited is an understatement! He LOVES learning about these types of plants. He has devoured so much information on the subject I dare say he may be an expert!

Our day started with a tour of the carnivorous plant exhibit. We even got to go back behind the scenes in the greenhouses to where they grow the specimens for the exhibit.

We then headed to a classroom to look more closely at the various carnivorous plants. We learned that a Venus Flytrap really only needs to "eat" 1-2 insects per year to survive.

The highlight for Zach was being able to dissect a Pitcher plant. One of them was full of the lovely remnants of bugs it had eaten.

Finally, we were taken on a tour of the rest of the indoor gardens. The blown glass that was on display amongst the various plants was breathtaking!

The tour concluded our organized time at the gardens however we decided to stay and have lunch and explore the outside a little bit. The boys had fun running around and the adults enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Enjoy the following pictures from our day. You can click on any picture to make it larger.

MSU Children's Garden- July 8, 2010

Today with our Botany group we headed to the Children's Garden at MSU. The gardens feature over 56 themed areas. Zachary's favorite was the dinosaur garden which featured plants that survived the dinosaur era. His favorite was the large Ginko Tree.

My favorite was the Pizza Garden. Which was planted in a pie shape and included ingredients needed to make a pizza. The boys had fun running around the gardens and looking for plants on their scavenger hunt!

Here is Zach scrubbing his teeth with a sage leaf. Miss Jessica, our tour guide told us they make a great substitute

for a tooth brush!

This bee was fun to see since our most recent lessons were on pollination! We learned that a colony of bees decide each day which single kind of flower to collect nectar from and only feed from those plants. This is what enables plants to be pollinated since they can only be pollinated from one of their own kind.

After heading inside to work on a necklace that will sprout a plant we headed outside again to work on some flower paintings.

The kids got to run around the annual flower garden and pick flower heads that they then rubbed on watercolor paper to create a beautiful piece of art.

Although it was raining, the kids didn't mind and it actually made their paintings that much more vibrant. Zachary's favorite flowers were red geraniums and orange marigolds.

We had such a great time today, even though we encountered some rain. The boys could have cared less!

Our next trip is to the Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids on July 29th. We will be visiting and learning about carnivorous gardens and plants. Zachary cannot wait!!

To my brother-

6/29/10

Kyle,

I cannot believe it has been 8 years since your accident and the day we lost you. I don't let myself go back to that day very often mainly because I remember every single detail and that is not how I choose to remember you. The memories of that day brings forth so much sadness and you would not want that. Instead today I will remember the fantastic 19 years I had with you. I will remember the way you loved my son and the joy and happiness he brought you whenever you saw him. I have so many pictures of you holding Zach, and a video of you helping him open all his presents on his first Christmas, I cherish them!

God's plan for your life may have been fulfilled in 19 years but the astounding thing is his plan for your death and legacy. It has brought forth a tremendous amount of change and growth in the lives of those you loved. It is because of you, I have the relationship I do with the Lord. That in turn has led to my son committing his life to Jesus and be baptized. I know you would be blown away by the thought of YOU leading to people to Christ but, you did bud! My marriage, my job as a parent, and the relationships I have are all strengthened because of my love for Jesus.

Jeremiah 29:11 says:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Your time of this earth may have come to an end bud, but don't doubt for a second that your legacy does not live on. My hope is that in Heaven you can see what is going on in the lives of those you loved. I know that you are cheering us on. I can't wait for the day I am finally home and can hug you again!

Your loving sister,

Nikki