Dry Canyon Hike

Our Homeschool Adventure Club met again today for another great hike in the mountains. Technically, I think this was the foothills, but whatever. We had a great time and I was proud of how little the boys complained.This trail was a lot more steep then the grotto trail, and longer too. It was, however, the perfect day to go.

If I picked a motto for this hike it would be, we can do hard things. The boys got tired quickly, but they kept on going. When we got to the final destination they were happy to sit down and have their candy. On the way down we even got lucky and saw a mommy deer scrambling up the side of the mountain.

Can you spot the deer in this picture?

Luke was so thrilled to take a picture of the clouds

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Our newest cook

As part of our curriculum this year, I have added a subject called Life Skills. My focus is to help Peter understand the basics of meal planning and preparation. At the beginning of each month, I have him pick 2 nights on the calendar. On these nights he is in charge of planning and preparing dinner. This past week he was so excited to make his favorite dish - pizza.

We shopped together at the store for the pizza sauce and lemonade. Then, we went home and got to work. He did a fantastic job and he took this assignment very seriously. He gave Luke and I assignments too.  I was the maid and Luke was the butler. It was pretty hilarious. I feel extra blessed that this kid enjoys cooking in the kitchen. He has been especially proud of himself recently because I now trust him to use a sharp kitchen knife all by himself. He really is growing up way too fast.

The layers of the earth

For our science lesson last week we learned about the crust of the Earth and how it is comprised of four layers (crust, mantel, outer core, inner core). Peter and I decided it would be fun to do a little experiment in the kitchen to reinforce the concepts we had learned.

We quickly whipped up a white cake and divided it up into three round pans. Once the cake was in the pan we added a few drops of food coloring. It turned out to be so delicious and we think it looks just like the  the earth - practically imperfect in every way.

Hiking with the Homeschool Adventure Club

One of my goals this year is to expose the boys to more adventures in the great outdoors. There is a wonderful group that meets a couple times a month to go on local hikes. This was the first hike for this school year. Payson canyon is a sacred place for me since my brother passed away here - and it's always a bit somber when we drive up it.

However, the boys were beyond thrilled to go and we had an enjoyable time. The trees were just beginning to turn, and the waterfall at the grotto made for plenty of splashing opportunities.

About to begin our journey.

Luke was nervous the first time across this bridge. He quickly became more confident.

The boys with the waterfall in the background. We all got so wet.

Coloring a picture of the grotto in our nature journals.

Any place is a good place to practice neat tricks.

Love!

Our first week of Homeschool

Overall, the week has been fantastic! Peter has easily transitioned into the structure of our homeschooling days. On the days that Luke is home, he hasn't been as distracting as he was last year. Peter is doing better in both reading and writing, for which I am thankful. My primary goal for the year is reading. He loves to play games with Brandon (lots and lots of games), and it would be so helpful if he could read independently.  Both Brandon and I are crossing our fingers.

He has started piano again. I am shocked at how well he is doing after having the summer off. He still remembers most notes and Brandon didn't start at the very beginning with him. We will see if he will be ready to play a duet with Papa for the annual Thomas Christmas party. We have hopes that at some point he will be able to play duets with his cousin Morgan. Brandon will start teaching her piano at the end of this month.

This week we have a fun science lesson where we learned about the solar system. We took time on that day to create this:

The coconut represents stars and the white blob at the end is Luke's lovely creation. He calls it the moon's floor. Pretty funny. We still want to add rings to Saturn and Uranus, but I haven't figured out a good way to do that...toothpicks or noodles? I'm just not sure what would work best. Perhaps a hair elastic would do the trick.

Another day we learned about the Boston Tea Party as part of the Liberty Studies "subject" we are rotating into our schedule this year. It was pretty fun to see what Peter remembered from this days session.

I think it will be another few years before he understands the concept of Taxes without Representation, but at least we are headed in the right direction.

We have also started reading right out of the Book of Mormon. This year I went and bought a Large Print Book of Mormon (only $5!) and he reads 6 verses every morning. I help him with the words he doesn't know and he fills in the rest. Kinda funny, but he already recognizes the word pass and wickedness. It's been a very enjoyable time for both of us each morning. I'm counting on the accompanying blessings associated with reading this wonderful book every morning.

This morning we woke up to a street lined with flags due to Patriot's day. While I didn't mentioned the reason to Peter or Luke we did take time this morning to go and recite the Pledge of Alliance outside instead of doing it in the living room. I will never tire of hearing this cute little ones recite it.

We have so many other fun things coming up on the horizon. I feel so blessed to have amazing contacts with so many homeschoolers who organize great things (local hiking/outdoor group, plays at BYU, group parties). It really is a great time in the history of mankind to be a homeschool family.