In the Middle

 In science we have moved on from the digestive system to a unit on nutrition.  It's been a good read.  Very informative!  We started off learning about proteins, fats, and carbs and how our body stores them and how our body uses them.  Before moving on to vitamins and minerals, we did an experiment with fats.  We cut up a piece of construction paper.  Each one got a different food of the kid's choosing.  They had to rub their food on the paper for 20 seconds and then leave it sitting on the paper for 2 hours.  After 2 hours we took the foods off and let the papers dry (for another 2 hours) to see the leftover fat.  The stick butter and the peanut butter clearly were the big fat winners.  (Of course we did have to say that they were a better fat than the Twinkie on the top right.)  From top left it goes: Coconut pecan, banana, mint chocolate Twinkie, Ritz, corn beef hash, Hershey Kiss, shredded cheddar, peanut butter, stick butter.

This was our last week of CC for the semester.  The boys had to do a chart project.  In the grammar portion of their class they have lots of charts.  Each chart has to do with a part of speech.  Essentially they are supposed to memorize the charts during their three years in Essentials.  To celebrate what they've learned, they have to pick a chart to display in either poster form, diorama, poem, song, etc.  There was a lot of freedom in how to share the chart.  Josiah got to work on his immediately and created a Snoopy Interjection scene.  Technically, interjections were covered at the bottom of the Prepositions chart, however, I let him roll with it.  

Josiah said he posed like that so it looked like he was thinking all the thought bubbles.

Henry got to work painting lots of boxes green because he wanted to do some sort of Minecraft theme with the Noun Chart.  Frustration grew quickly when the boxes didn't turn out the way he wanted and he couldn't figure out how to display them, etc.  So we switched gears and I suggested he write a poem.  He took to that idea, but still kept his Minecraft theme.  He entitled it: Noun-Craft.  (He also wrote, By Anonymous.) Here is the first stanza (he was going through the noun definition - a noun is the name of a person, place, thing, activity, or idea).  He said sometimes you had to say the words a little funny so it would rhyme.

Noun-Craft

Nouns are a person, just like Steve.

And like everybody.

Places like the jungle.

Are made to rumble.

Things like grass.

covers great mass.

Activities like chopping.

and like mopping.

Ideas like planning.

Do it jamming.

It was also our last day of tin whistle at CC.  Every six weeks we do something different for fine arts.  This six weeks was tin whistle's turn.  Caroline practiced Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and Yankee Doodle to perform in front of her class.  All the kids in her class performed a song for each other.  Some could play the whistle really well and the tune was clear.  Others had zero tune, zero rhythm, and were just screeching on it, but still they were proud to perform.  Caroline played well.  She had Mary Had a Little Lamb down really well.  After our winter break we'll study great artists. Personally the art projects are a lot more fun.  

One morning before school I had the kids dress up in their Christmas red so we could take a picture for our Christmas cards.  We did the formal pictures in our side yard where the light was best.  We always have to take three sets with each child getting a chance to be in the middle.  In the middle is a very important thing around here.  After we got some good pictures, the boys wanted to recreate poses that they've taken in years past.  It was a chilly day, so we tried to make it quick and get inside.  As soon as we walked in we were greeted with Benson.  The kids begged, Can we pleeeeeease get a picture with Benson?  So we went to the fenced-in backyard for this picture.  The kids stood by their tree and Benson went nuts.  I instructed that the three of them needed to look at me at all times with a smile on their face so that when Benson jumped in the frame I could snap the picture.  I think we got the best shot of the day.  The kids had big grins because they had been watching Benson run like crazy, and Benson got to display his puppy personality.  After catching him we put him on a leash and tried to take pictures at a different tree, but none were as good as the crazy dog running at top speed.  

I sent the pictures off to be developed.  Typically they only take a few days, but unfortunately, I waited too late in December.  They'll be delivered anywhere between December 17th and 24th.  Whoops.  So, we'll be sending out New Year's cards this year....

The following day we put up Christmas lights.  Grandpa had gifted us lights several years ago and, while we had hung some up in Caroline's room, we had yet to open the final box.  Usually the kids spot them as we pack up our Christmas things each year and ask why we never put them up, so I was determined to get them out this year.  There was some disagreement among the ranks - one child thought they were exclusively for them and therefore only they could have the honor and privilege of hanging them up;  a second child was sure they were for the family and all had a right to hang them.  We compromised - one child hung them from the ground to halfway above the front door.  The other child got from the top half of the front door to the ground.  The third child was photographer turned videographer.  Yet when we watched the film of us hanging the lights, it showed one child starting to hang them.  Then you hear a small airplane fly overhead and the camera pans to the plane and follows it as it flies across the sky.  The video then briefly comes back to the front door before abruptly ending.  Like a dog spotting a squirrel.  After they were hung, the kids wanted pictures with the lights.  Again, each requested a turn at the top of the ladder, because they all  needed to be in the middle.  For their final picture, Henry said they should all pretend they were falling.  Sometimes it's quicker and easier to just take the picture than to question why.

Our pest man came this week for our quarterly service.  The biggest reason for the pest services in this area is to keep the ants at bay.  Ants here are just crazy.  Fire ants, ghost ants, tiny black ones that can squeeze into microscopic cracks, and many other varieties.  We are always at battle to keep them from building up residence either in our house or in the yard.  Josiah's been in a drawing mood (basically since he was 2) and he drew Snoopy as the pest man.  It was quite clever.  We also have had the same pest man for many years, so we feel like we know him a bit.  

Whenever we are in the car we have been listening to Christmas music.  Henry has claimed the song, Feliz Navidad, as his song for many years now.  He has always loved it and he loves it even more now that he's learning Spanish.  In the car, the kids have this thing where they lip sync the songs.  One child gets to be the main "singer," while the other two will play air guitar, air drums, air trumpet, or air violin depending on what's going on in the song.  Usually this works well, except when it doesn't.  We were on our way to Awana when Feliz Navidad came on.  Caroline jumped at the chance and called, "I get to be the singer [lip sync-er]."  Henry was not having any of that.  This was his song.  He was going to be the singer.  So he yelled at Caroline that he was the singer and then he spent the remainder of the song turning around to see if she was lip syncing or playing air trumpet as she was supposed to.  Of course, she wasn't playing trumpet.  She was mouthing the words.  So they spent the entire song getting mad at each other regarding who got to pretend to sing.  Insanity!

In Benson news, we were wondering what had happened to the 18 tennis balls we had bought him.  We hadn't seen any in quite some time.  We searched under furniture and found four.  He was excited to have them again, but has since taken them and systematically torn off the outer fuzziness leaving them bald.  We have to throw the baldies away so he doesn't try to eat the rubber.  So now he's down to one (inside) ball again.  He keeps trying to bring in a ball he's had outside that is completely filthy and currently water logged.  Each time he comes to the door to come in from outside I have to take it out of his mouth and drop it back outside.  Oh, dog.  

We are down to our last week of school before our winter break.  We're all a bit cranky and tired and impatient.  I'm just praying we make it through this week and learn a little something. 

And a funny meme.