Summer Time Learning

Summer is drawing to a close and we will soon be back to a normal school schedule again. I wanted to share a little about our summer learning before summer is over. We did a bit of math every week just so we wouldn't have to review in the fall which was the least exciting part of our summer learning. We also read lots of great books and Jacob read a number of books on his own.

This year we managed to find a monarch caterpillar after searching many milk weed plants over several weeks. Last year, we had found a monarch caterpillar as well but he was sadly lost in a clump of blackberry bushes when we were attacked by angry hornets. I managed to step right in the middle of a great big nest and in our screaming hast to flee the scene, last years caterpillar and the uncovered container he was in went flying through the air and landed in the middle of the blackberry bushes near the very angry hornet's nest. Mom was not going back in to try to find the caterpillar despite her son's teary pleadings. It was hard to tell if he was crying more for the caterpillar or his hornet stings.

Anyway, this year Jacob named his caterpillar, Chomper, because of his voracious appetite. We were all amazed at how quickly Chomper grew, formed a chrysalis, and then turned into a beautiful butterfly. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book has a whole new meaning for us now (emphasis on very hungry). I found some fabulous free story prop printables from Kiz club which we used to act out "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story with Rosa. The rest of our summer learning involved free library programs, local field trips, travel, audio books and music CD's in the car, learning simple embroidery, and more nature study. We are going to pack in a bit more summer learning and beach trips over the next couple weeks as we slowly ease into a more structured school routine again. You can check out some visual examples of our summer learning below.

Geography

Botany

History

Physical Education

Nature Study

More Geography

Appreciating God's Beautiful Creation