Old Ruins

It's always good to take advantage of a sunny afternoon.  We decided to spend this one exploring Murphy's Farm which is part of Harper's Ferry National Historical Park.

I wonder what it was like to live here.  

The old fencing style along a field is such a pretty sight. I can just imagine a herd of cattle grazing leisurely here and a little girl running with a handful of wildflowers.

Science Project: Vegetables and Plant Growth

Science projects are always a hit around here.  Actually any project that involves "getting involved" rather than writing or studying about it ranks #1.  We are currently learning about One-celled organisms, lower and higher plants, and photosynthesis.  We will be conversing about bacterium, fermentation, and spores for the next three weeks.  This is the part of homeschooling we love.

(Turnips with their greens couldn't be found so we had to forego that veggie.  Also, we did in fact plant a beet, not beer!)

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley:  The six-acres of gardens that surround the Glen Burnie House are both impressive and intimate. Designed by MSV benefactor Julian Wood Glass Jr. and his partner at the time,R. Lee Taylor, the creation of these formal gardens began in 1956 and evolved over the latter half of the twentieth century. Today the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley maintains this living collection in a manner that is considerate of the garden creators’ vision for the landscape.

Amazing Nature

These boletes are just a crazy mushroom.  They look like a normal mushroom, but as soon as they are touched or cut they turn blue.  watch it here if you don't believe me

I just love nature! It's pretty incredible.

And then finding the wings of a butterfly.  The body was eaten by bugs.  I love the silvery blue on the wings.
Papilio glaucus, Tiger Swallowtail 

Brick Fair 2013

This was our first year attending the Brick Fair.  I am really glad we went.  It was totally worth it.  We can't wait to go again next year.  My son really wants to be an exhibitor, but you must be 13.  I told him he has two years to plan ahead.

The details and creations were mind blowing.  We took a ton of pictures.  Some of my favorites are below.

Old Time Camera - they had a whole Civil War section of Lego reenactment scenes.  It was really cool.

Lego box of chocolates - Genius!

Too cute!

I really like the grill.

This was also super creative.  Lego bugs displayed behind glass with their scientific names.

Who doesn't love swans?

Cute toast boy

Totoro

Village - see the fish drying in the sun?

And this cute Ice Cream Man.

The Making of a Dinosaur

Some left over chicken wire, newspaper, water, flour, and a bit of patience.  It's all painted white and ready for a little life to be given to this dinosaur form.  Now, what to do with this project once it's complete....

Diorama

Part of the fun of homeschooling is that you get to participate in the fun stuff too.  A recent social studies project asked us to make a diorama of a pioneer scene.  Since we don't take life too seriously around here, we loosely followed the rules.

Our subscription to The Appalachian Trail magazine came in handy.  We had fun going through the old publications and choosing the backdrop, wild life, and of course....our pioneers!  Oh, and the creepy guy looking out of the cabin window.

A little backyard foraging provided us with the evergreens (thank you christmas tree) and the twigs needed for our log cabin.  A little glue gun magic and some creative engineering...and our fun diorama is complete.

I think that we will be making more dioramas whether the curriculum calls for it or not.  I think a science themed one will be in our future. Super easy, super fun.

Fun with Acorns: Part 1

-Go for a walk

-Collect Acorn caps

-Identify them

I love the differences in color, texture, and patterns each type of acorn cap has.

The height and depth differences

There are White Oak and Black Oak and Red Oak varieties. I'm no expert. We did our best to identify them. I think next time we will be smarter and collect the leaves with the acorns to make identifying easier.