What We've Been Learning About

Making pyramids with straws

Dressed up as one of the kings of Ancient Egypt

The other king of Ancient Egypt

I am amazed at how much fun it has been to study ancient times.  Right now we are learning about Ancient Egypt, so my children have made several types of pyramids, including ones made out of straws and also some made out of modeling clay.  Considering how long ago this time period was, it is fascinating to see how inventive the ancient Egyptians were when constructing the pyramids.  Some of them are almost 5,000 years old and are still standing! The ancient Egyptians weren't exactly stupid "cave men".about ancient times.  Right now we are studying ancient Egypt, sI had to include a photo of my new favorite movie, "America: The Story of Us".  They were giving away free copies of this DVD to educators, so I asked for one.  I love it!  American History is my absolute favorite subject, so I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  I have to give a warning, however.  There are some pretty graphic parts in it, such as the American Revolution war scenes and the Civil War scenes.  I haven't finished watching it yet.  There are 3 DVD's in all.  And of course it has a definite liberal, politically-correct slant, but it's still a great movie.

I also love this book, Lives of the Musicians.  It gives short, easy to swallow stories about a lot of famous composers.  Unfortunately it was due back to the library today.  Ooops!!

I started a new reward system with my children a couple of weeks ago.  I told them that every time they complete a school subject with a good attitude, they can put a marble into their jar.  They can also put a marble in the jar when they do something helpful around the house with a good attitude.  It has gone really well.  When the jar is full, they can pick out a fun activity for the family to do together.  I bought some shooter marbles at an antique store today, because they are bigger than regular ones and it's going to take a while to fill up the jars with the regular size marbles!    I prefer our school day to be a positive experience as much as possible.  :o)

  The other jars contain some of our Math manipulatives.  I love Mason jars and I bought a flat of them with the hopes of canning vegetables, but so far I have been scared to try.  So......in the meantime, I can use them to organize things.