I realized that I didn't post much about our writing, other than the fact that I am not smart enough to figure out how to post a powerpoint. I guess I'm hoping you don't care to read a research paper on Japan.
However, as we continued our studies on Jamestown, Bubbles has been keeping a fictitious diary. I was wanting to see what she was understanding about our learning as well as practice the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. (It seems in these preteens years there is so much self absorption). I also like the creative aspect of a diary. Bubbles likes that her entries can be shorter than the essays she usually writes. :)
December 20, 1609
Dear Diary,
I'm going to meet Captain John Smith in about four months. I can't wait. I think it is going to be exciting, but also hard. I heard that he'll make us work a lot. I won't mind. At least I don't think so.
When I get there, I bet I'll have to make dinner, clean the house, and wash clothes. I wonder what the houses look like. I asked my mom what we were going to eat. She doesn't know. (I hope it's good!) Mom said the Indians probably won't attack, but she doesn't know for sure.
Dear Diary,
We are almost there! Earlier today, when I ate lunch, I heard some men talking about the Captain's life. It was very interesting. If my friends back in England hear about this they would think I am very lucky to meet this man. Listen to this and you'll think I'm lucky too.
They said that when he was only fifteen years old, he began working for a merchant. A little while later, his father died and he finally went to travel the world. His first stop was France, to be a soldier. He fought in Holland, Hungry, and Transylvania too. In one of his battles he was captured by the Turks. The Turks sold him and he went to work as a slave. He was shipped off to another place to be a slave. This master was very cruel. He did very bad things to the Captain. Finally, Smith couldn't take it anymore and he killed his master. He then made it back to England. All the men said next was that he got to England.
Dear Diary,
We're here finally! They showed us our house and then put us to work! I'm a daughter of a farmer and I've done work, but this is insane! The farmers do most of the work. The gentlemen don't want to do anything. I don't like to be negative so I found a positive thing to mention. Captain John Smith is nice. Once I get used to it, I think I'm going to like it here.
Dear Diary,
Today, Captain John Smith said that anyone who doesn't work will get cold water poured down their shirt sleeve. Brrrr! But did the gentlemen care? No! I think Mr. Smith has a great idea. Oh, and also, when they got a few blisters or stubbed their toe, they start cursing. Mama says not to listen, but I think it's funny to listen to them.
I stayed awake until the first bucket of water was poured. I knew because that man would yell! Now if I would not work and that was poured on me, I would not like Captain Smith's idea at all. I don't think anyone would. I really do feel badly for them. But deep down inside, I think they deserved it!
Dear Diary,
Today Miss Pichered got Typhoid fever. I feel badly for her and her family. She has two little girls who are four. I stayed with her in the sick house. She has a fever that is 103 degrees and still going up. We think she got sick because of the dirty water she drank from the James River.
It's a new day and I'm hoping Misstress Pichered is getting better. But, she is getting worse! She doesn't eat much, she has stomach pains, weakness, headaches, rshes, and much more. When we checked her fever it went up to 104 degrees. I am not sure she is going to make it.
Dear Diary,
It's been three weeks and Misstress Pichered is not doing better. She is getting worse. This afternoon Miss Pichered died. I feel for her family. I tried to comfort her little girls, but nothing works.
Dear Diary,
One week after Mistress Pichered died a ship came and we thought we were saved. That is until we found out that the ship carried few supplies and even more settlers. Captain Smith was not very happy. I was furious! Mama told me not to say a word. I was so mad, I decided to make a list of things each person needed to bring and how much of it. This is what I came up with:
2 lbs. of salt
2 lbs. of pork or beef
4 cups of all kinds of herbs
2 guns with gunpowder
5 pocket knives
1 machete
4 shirts
6 pants
3 pairs of shoes
7 hats
4 pairs of mittens
6 pairs of socks
3 jackets
4 dresses
5 beaded necklaces--for trading
2 pots of extra beads--for trading
3 bells--for trading
bedding
lanterns
blankets
potable water
This is all I have right now, but I may add on later. Now, I can't wait until the next ship arrives.
Dear Diary,
I was finally getting used to Jamestown and then my dad said we were moving! I am a little tired of eating only one or two meals a day, but I don't want to move to Massachusetts Bay Colony! We just got here a year or so ago. My parents say it's better there.
Today, dad made my brother, my sister, and I sit down and he talked to us about what the new colony was like. The laws there weren't very good ones. At least, I don't think so. He said if someone disobeyed laws, they would be put in the stocks.
Now, the stocks are big, wooden things that are in the middle of the town. People have to put their head and arms in. Here's a picture.
And when people go to get anything out of their house, they see that person I would be so embarrassed! We'll go soon. Ugh!
**Don't you just love the look on Prez's face. On this day, we made a list of rules for our "new colony". Anyone who broke the rules had to spend time in the stocks. I tell you I've never heard this kid talk so fast as he tried to explain why he was not guilty.
If you remember, Bubbles was making duct tape flip flops one week. She also made the ipod cover, and the wallets. 
Bubbles has been making them for fun. Two of her friends (that attend the local public school) have some they use. So, yesterday Bubbles ran into more girls who go to that school and they already knew her because of the pens. They asked Bubbles for a few. I've never seen that girl so proud!
Bubbles created a pastel entitled Queen of Heaven, a colored pencil of Our Lady of the Rosary, a stained glass effect of the Miraculous Medal, a sketch of Mary with Jesus, and a colored pencil of a Lily.
Prez created an abstract piece with the word LOVE, a colored pencil crown with his new style of block letters for Queen of Heaven, a sketch of Mary with child, a marker of Mary's tears for her sorrows, and a pastel of a heart since he loves Mary.
I decided to get in on the fun as well. I sketched a young Mary, a colored pencil Lady of Guadalupe, a stained glass effect of the miraculous medal, a pastel of a sorrowful Mary, and a pastel and ink of Mary's crown for Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Build Me A House. Build a house of cards at least two stories high. This took A LOT of self control, not to mention patience and perseverance.
You're so pretty! Each team had to work together to create a team symbol to wear. One team in particular was very kind and good to each other as they listened to the different ideas and in order to make sure they included everyone, decided to make the more creative and time consuming art. You can see the "angry bird" being constructed on the table.
Spread the Sunshine. Each team had to use the Bible to find an appropriate verse to be used on a banner to be delivered to a sick parishioner. They had to copy the verse onto the banner and sign it. I thought each team did a GREAT job showing concern and kindness. 
We had three quizzes. Ten is Enough (list the ten commandments in order), Bible Brainiac (how well do they know their Bible stories), and Catholicism for Dummies (how well do they know their Catholic faith). Each of these quizzes took knowledge and understanding. It was so great to hear the discussions at these tasks.
It's a long shot baby! Each team member had to make a basket. For most of the teams, this was an easy and needed break from the other tasks, but it did take some gentleness, as these balls were EXTREMELY light!
After finishing the two tasks at each pit stop, the teams would receive letters. In the end, they had to work together to put the letters together and form a banner with the correct saying. The winning team not only had the message right, but they had it displayed! Talk about joy! It was hilarious listening to the things they were coming up with.
Here's hubby making attempts, away from the draft of the air conditioner, on his house of cards. 
One of the judges came by and said that for the sake of time, this team could chug it! Yee-haw!
Puzzle Pro. This task required that the teams complete a 24 piece puzzle together. Fast and furious for sure!
Finally finished, we gather to talk about the bonus prize! We discussed how each task (not all are pictured) featured a different gift or fruit of the Spirit. Jello took patience, house of cards took self control, Bible Brainiac took knowledge etc. etc. We also voted on the one team that played with the most Christ-like attitude. This particular team put aside their personal gain at times and helped other teams, were patient with each other, and were inclusive. They got to eat first and all other teams had to clean up. 
The finale was a potluck lunch and ice cream sundaes! It was an AWESOME afternoon and everyone had a blast! Next month I think we're going swimming! Easy-peasy!
Below is a book about Saint Francis, who lived his life as a missionary and had the awesome opportunity to live in Japan and spread God's message there. We happened upon it just as we were studying the East.
After leaving the East, we headed to Denmark and learned of Tycho Brahe, one of the greatest astronomers of all time! In honor of him and his great observatory, hubby pulled out the telescope (thanks, Uncle Steve) and we spent some time gazing at the stars. I found what looks to be an awesome, free, online astronomy course for kids that I am hoping to dive into this summer. Anyway, Brahe handed his research off to his good friend, Johann Kepler, who used the information to discover that planets move in ellipses, not in circles. We also touched some on Galileo and his famous pendulum, pulsi-logia, and Leaning Tower of Pisa ball drop. We used a week to read every children's book in the library about him as well as replicate two of his experiments. I didn't do a good job of documenting most of our work this time around, but it was great to see the kiddos faces when I dropped from the top of the playset a brick and a tube of chapstick and they both landed at the same time! Priceless! The funniest part was when they went clamoring for the next ten minutes to find the most opposite items to drop for each other and see the result.
Shown above is a paper model of Shakespeare Globe Theatre. I found it on this website and I love the attention to detail as well as the opportunity for the kids to work on spatial concepts. We studied this because this particular theatre was one built by a company of actors known as the King's Men--of which Shakespeare was a member. Queen Elizabeth is now dead and the son of Mary, Queen of Scots (killed per order of the Queen), who was ruling Scotland, is now promoted to rule England. He loved the theatre. A planned fieldtrip would have been perfect, but truly, where would we have found the time? I do have it on my list, however, for sometime in the future. 
In the last week, we have discovered the hustle and bustle of the Virginia Company of London to make a permanent settlement in America. This settlement, with Captain John Smith so prominent, was to be known as Jamestown (named for King James, of course). Above is Bubble's paper model of Jamestown. I found it in a small little activity book of the 13 colonies. We have simultaneously been learning of Quebec, the French colony that was taking root around the same time. So, it's been fun to learn about different Indian tribes. After her recent research and model making, she was not interested in doing a project on the Indians and I don't blame her. So, we have been content to read stacks of library books instead.
Lastly for History, here is a picture of Prez's Jamestown. I thought he did a great job for such little fingers and short patience!
We were both super pleased with the results. You might notice the two creases in the paper. This is a great way to teach the concept of depth. Just in case you were inspired to go draw something! :)
As for Geography, we continued our map and flag studies. By the end of the year (which for us will not be in May--due to the new baby and our interrupted school year), she should be able to match flags to countries and correctly label blank maps of each area. We are working on memorizing this information by turning the maps into puzzles. With everything else going on, I'll admit that there are two areas we did give much attention to: memorization and music. We'll do better next time.
Different densities: maple syrup, dyed water, and oil (I think I remember that correctly)
Different objects that sunk through the different densities or didn't. A penny went all the way down, a mint stopped in the middle, and a piece of popsicle stick floated on tip top.
Some liquids naturally have different densities, but some liquids can have their density altered. So now, if you are designing something that you want to float, you have to factor in the density of the liquid used and how it can help you or hurt you. Here is a raw egg in a cup of water. It sinks.
Here is the same raw egg in a cup of salt water. The water is so dense that the egg is less dense and doesn't sink.
Here is a diorama of a stage that is utilizing different simple machines. There are inclined planes, wheel and axle, lever, and a pulley. Can you find them all?
In this experiment, Prez is challenged to lift Bubbles with just one finger!
It takes all five fingers, but he's so proud that he can lift her with just one hand! Of course, the lever helped some! :)
Here they discover that if your fulcrum is misplaced or you are on the wrong end of your lever, your work load can be impossible. Prez doesn't even move her a smidge and that's with his entire weight.
The above picture was teaching Bubbles about screws verses nails. A screw is just an inclined plane wrapped around a "nail". The different inclines of the plane will change the tread of the screw and require more or less turning to get it in. They also discovered how much easier it was to remove the nail verses the screw and we brainstormed times when we would rather use a nail and times when we would rather use a screw.
These last two pictures, show Bubbles as she experiments with wheels, axles, and belts. We discovered that if you changed the configuration of the belt (aka. rubber band) then you could change the direction of your movement. It was also a 
Well, that was probably more than you wanted to know. If you made it to the end, CONGRATULATIONS! I need to issue you an honorary student award just for putting in the effort. 