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i am a stay-at-home mom living, learning and loving by the bay!I love to take pictures. I love to crochet cozy things for my family and friends.

September 26, 2011

Happy Fall!!


Happy Fall!!
This is my favorite time of year! 
I always seem to come home from our morning walks with a handful of
fallen leaves.  I can't help myself. 
This is the time of year when I change the radio station more frequently to our local
classical station.  I love listening to classical while cozied up with a cup of tea!
Not that I will be cozied up anytime soon.
It will be quite warm here this week.  No sweater weather in sight!



Goose is studying pre and ancient history this year.
We started with the first peoples migrating out of Africa.
NOVA's Becoming Human is a great program for this subject along with this
website.  She made this very cool ice age shelter, complete with handmade
mammoth bones, moss, twigs and animal fur.  I also found this
amazing website created by the French Government with a virtual tour of the famous cave paintings
at Lascaux.  I highly recommend this site!
Our reading list for this section includes Maroo of the Winter Caves,
Boy of the Painted Cave and Manu's Wolf.
Next we move on to the first civilizations!
We will be reading the Gilgamesh stories first while also reading Story of the World.
I have a huge list of activities for this section like making our own cuneiform tablets,
cooking ancient bread and stew, and building a ziggurat model.
We will also be looking at the roles of women and gods and goddesses in everyday life.
The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago has an amazing
website on ancient Mesopotamia where I found
some activities and photos of ancient artifacts for this lesson.

Goose has a full schedule this semester.
It looks something like this

Algebra
Math Group meets once a week
Ancient History
Creative Writing Group meets once a month
Science
Science Group meets once a week with lesson blocks on the cell, human anatomy and oceans
Art History Group meets once a month
Charter School Classes include Industrial Revolution and Fort Ross living history
Repertory Theatre Glee Production meets once a week with performance in December
Volunteering at local Animal Shelter twice a week
Library Book Club meets once a month
Cuong Nhu martial arts meets 4x week

Wow, I'm tired just typing it all up!
  Lots of driving from place to place for me, but I know she is really looking forward to it all.
I am still finalizing some things for Binky.
He has asked to hold a cooking class at our house this year.
Sounds good to me!  I am also organizing some fieldtrips to our local
 missions to go with our California lesson.  Binky is so looking forward to volunteering at the animal shelter!
He LOVES animals!!

I am opening my Etsy shop this week!
More details on that later!
It is time for our morning walk!
Happy Fall! 


September 6, 2011

Big Sur


We camp here most Labor Day weekends.
This campground is situated on the Big Sur River just south of
Carmel on Hwy 1.




The first thing the kids did was go climbing!







The river is coooold!!!!
Goose tried to get in, but immediately got out.
Next year we will bring wetsuits!



This is Barkley.
He immediately came to greet us when we pulled up to our site.
Cute, isn't he?




Grandma and Binky played volleyball together.







Grandma and I trekked through the river one afternoon.
It was so beautiful!  And so peaceful.



We always bring the hammock.
I didn't get a chance to get in it this year.





Goose, Daddy and I found some enormous trees that had fallen across the river.
Goose said she would love to live in Big Sur.





The view from Cafe Kevah.
We always stop here Monday morning before heading home.
Such a beautiful view.






It was a very relaxing weekend.
Quiet, peaceful.
And we are all looking forward to next year!