A January 2014 TP experiment

One day in January we decided to test to see which type of TP was strongest:  the expensive, thick kind or the cheap thin one.  I figured it would obviously be the thickest brand, but I was WRONG!  We even tried our experiment with a fast food napkin, figuring that surely it wouldn't last long.  This video shows that part of the experiment.  It lasted much longer (wet and holding a few pennies) than both the expensive TP and the cheap TP.  So, that cushy three-ply TP might be soft, but it's not as strong as you might think--at least not once it's wet.  It's probably because you want the TP to break down fast when it hits your septic tank, so the manufacturers have to strike a balance.

Anyway, there is a short write-up of this in our portfolio, but Suzi really wanted to make a video to share.  Remember, kids:  "You can do this at home with sunglasses.  If you have sunglasses."

November - December 2013

My mom went with us to see Annie Junior in November.  My dad was very sick in the hospital by then, and it was a hard time for all of us.  At intermission Ivey grabbed my mom's face and said, "You're not fully dressed Grandma!  Smile!"

My kids play with the counting bears in the way I always wanted to when I was five.

Cranium Triple Triumph is an awesome game for 6+, but it makes a great building manipulative for 2+.

Ivey made a snowman to take to Grandpa in the hospital.

Suzi made this for me the day we put our tree up.  I really needed it.

"Dear Santa Claus,

What I want for Christmas is a cap gun and a robot and a toy dog and some surprises.

Suzi Harmon"

This still breaks my heart a little.  My dad did not live to see Christmas, but I hope he knew how loved he was by Suzi.

October 2013

Yet another Suzi original costume!  She came up with this all by herself.

I then helped her embellish it a little.  We went to a Halloween-themed roller derby bout and she won one of the best costume prizes.  She got a big bucket of candy!

We found this big, gorgeous spider out in the woods at Jordan's family's farm.

At the fall festival the Montessori school does every year

This was at a Halloween storytelling event Grandma found.  Lots of spooky fun!

Suzi reads my personal favorite Halloween book to Ivey

Ivey's dance class (plus siblings) on costume day.  Suzi and Ivey are the wizard and Tinkerbell in the top middle.  As a condition of Robert consenting to be photographed, Jordan had to be in the picture too.

September 2013

Another costume by Suzi.

This Dinosaur Train scale toy is a great way to learn how scales work and compare weights of various items.

Not homeschool-related at all, but this is one of the cutest pictures ever of Robert.  He achieved this look with orange and purple hair chalks.

After watching the VanGogh-inspired episode of Doctor Who (SPOILER ALERT), Suzi was heartbroken and created this as a tribute to the monster from that episode.  He was lonely, scared, and misunderstood.  That's all.

Ivey, all dressed up for an 80's skating party we attended with our local homeschool group.  It was so much fun!

Suzi won a prize for best 80's outfit!  She was beside herself with joy.

Fractions/money lesson.  A quarter is 1/4 of a dollar!

One Sunday morning in September, we came out to find our front yard covered in beautiful spiderwebs covered with dew.  This made it easy to see how they are designed.

Halloween-themed comic strip by Suzi

We labeled the different bones as we fastened this paper skeleton together, then hung him on the wall to admire.

July - August 2013

We started our 2013-14 school year July 1.  Here are a few photos from July and August, some directly related to homeschool and some that are just good memories.

A sympathy note that Suzi wrote to me in August (she was 6) regarding her little brother and sister.  It says, "Sorry that Ivey and Robert are annoying you.  They're annoying me too."

We read Beezus and Ramona, in which Ramona embarrasses Beezus by wearing paper bunny ears out to the library. Suzi was inspired to make herself a bunny costume.

Ivey worked on a numbers matching game while Suzi advised.

Robert loved this little sailor puzzle, and probably still does!

Just one of Suzi's many creative projects.  I think this may have been inspired by "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" part of Fantasia 2000.

We took the kids on a little educational/fun visit to a nearby waterfront park on the lake.

Suzi thought that if she made herself wings like an eagle, she would be able to take them outside and fly.  She made a pair for Ivey, too!  She was disappointed when they didn't work, but we turned it into a science and history of human flight lesson. 

At the amazing Love to Learn homeschool conference that we attend each year, Suzi went to the duct tape crafts workshop and made this mouse house with her Daddy.  She was so proud!  It sparked what will probably be a lifetime affinity for duct tape crafting.

Suzi and Grandma made this little jacket together.  Suzi loves dressing up to get into character!

Suzi wasn't so enthusiastic about writing at the beginning of first grade.  She resisted meaningless writing exercises, and I don't blame her.  Everyone wants their work to be meaningful!  She loves Halloween and was thrilled when this catalog came in the mail, so I told her to make a list of items we should order for our Halloween party.  That was fun--especially after we ordered and the things arrived in the mail!

Suzi made this parachute independently.  It did not work as she thought it would, but it, too, made for a science learning opportunity.

For a month or two, Suzi was in a kids' Crossfit class.  She loved it, but we unfortunately we had to cut back on activities.  This year I am hoping we'll find a dance class she likes!

Ivey is interested in hair, nails, and makeup.  I made her this "beauty spot" for her fourth birthday, but it has since been downsized due to changing interests and space issues.

Robert was her first "patient," and a very trusting one at that.

She still paints his toenails for him pretty regularly.

Later she got a styling head, which she named Alexis.  It kept giving us small frights when we walked into the room and saw it out of the corner of our eye.

Suzi drew this Adipose, a Doctor Who alien.  It was a big hit on the Doctor Who Hub Facebook page!

And then I made her a flannel heat pack inspired by her artwork.

Stay tuned for more photos of our 2013-14 year!