Week 29 Wrap Up - FLOWER DISSECTION

This week... 

Wow. Really it's been so so long since I last threw one of these weekly wrap-up posts together. It feels nice to take some moments back to reflect on the week. 

The boys.

Just to catch you up; the children I currently educate at home are Zazu (age 6 or gr.1) and Eagle (age 12 or gr.6), with Alba (2 years) who is tagging along for the ride and wanting to take the wheel most days.

A couple days ago I switched out Zazu's Copywork for Little Boys for his A Reason for Handwriting-A. I realized that he can't really read the sections well enough to really understand or see the reason in what he's writing. It was a task that he needed to do because I said and not one that he saw immediate value in, which is important to me. I think he was on lesson #22, when I pulled the plug. I'll most likely re-introduce it at a later date sometime next year. So, as of today he's on day 2 of lesson 4 in A Reason for Handwriting-A. We read the one word together and on day 4, we'll read the whole phrase together in plain english, which he understands. I don't read enough old literature, poetry and KJV to him, so it's a good thing I jumped in there, before he started hating copywork.

Eagle has been moved up to play with the competitive boys in indoor soccer. I was joyfully surprised when he'd been asked to move up. He's worked hard with skills training over fall/winter and deserves a shot with the better players in the league. This is his second season playing the game, his first was two years ago, so this fall was quite new again for him, but he's doing it. We're proud. On a side, we were finding it difficult to get him to care for anything lately. His attitude was lacking, but since his skills in soccer improved there was a slight shift in his attitude. It's a joy when you see your son want to achieve!  

As part of our Exploring Creation with Botany lessons, there are always fun hands-on activities to dig deeper with the kids. I was surprised to see at the beginning of the lesson, there was to be a flower dissection right away in the first few pages of the lesson. 

Now to be honest, I don't really do crafts, activities with the kids all that much... phew. That felt great to get that off my chest. I get so consumed with the basics that, unless the book tells me to do something I just don't. 

We haven't worked on our Botany lessons in over a month. I read the first page (about a month ago) note to the teacher section, which said to have a flower on hand. Oh boy, what was I thinking doing a botany study in Northern Alberta, in winter, combined with my lazy school get to it later attitude....

woah.. easy girl. 

*light bulb moment coming up*

All I had to do was go to the flower shop for a flower. 

It only took me... oh... a month to figure that out.  

As you can see by the photos, I did it. I finally got that flower.

And boy did we do some dissecting.

Zazu loved holding the flower in the in-between time that I was cutting it up.

The boys did a superb job.

We all had fun with it.

Zazu (with help) and Eagle glued and labeled their lily.

And into the notebook it went.

This post was part of this weeks weekly wrap-up hosted by weirdunsocializedhomschoolers.com

This has nothing to do with school. 

I just wanted to show off my new 3-tier cooling rack. *snicker

Have a God filled weekend,

MO

Fruit of the Harvest

Carrots from my container garden.

Months ago I planted seeds in pots filled with good soil.

The seeds were watered and tended to and soon little plants popped up through the ground.

Matthew 13:1-23

Carrots like other root type veggies are interesting because the fruit that is grown cannot be seen from above. Then one day there is a glimse of orange. Tomatoes are fun to watch. They flower, form into little green pearls, then ripen on the vine to golden gems.

My little carrots aren't perfect.

Some are gnarly and twisted, some are short and stubby, some even broke on the way out but they're pretty tasty though. Tomatoes always look pretty; round and red, shiny when ripe and just good looking. My carrots won't win a good looking carrot contest, which I'm totally alright with.

A friend of mine told me while on a grocery trip she had picked up a rutabaga, which was included in a stew for her family for dinner that evening. The stew tasted bitter and was unfortunately never eaten. The reason the stew was inedidable was because of one ingredient, the rutabaga. That rutabaga was so detestable, bitter and woody, that the whole batch was spoiled. She tried picking out the dreadful rutabaga but to her dissapointment the flavor of it had dispersed all through the stew making it worthy of the trash. I'm sure the rutabaga looked good in the store. I'm sure it passed the squeeze and smell test. It's not like she could taste it before buying it, and who really does, except for the grapes (which so you know, I don't).

So back to my carrots.

Does it matter how they look or is the taste more of what you're after?

Me, I'd rather eat an ugly carrot that tastes good than a perfect looking carrot that tastes bland or bitter.

How about you?

Do you look good to others on the outside but your inside tastes bad or has no taste at all?

Matthew 5:13

I know that I want to be like that broken carrot that is sweet to taste.

Psalm 34:8

How do you speak to, or of others?

Your kids, the neighbor, your husband, even yourself.

Proverbs 16:24