Happy Halloween!

It's Here!

Hope your day is filled with lots of tricks...

And treats!

Have a Happy Halloween, my friends!!!!!

(Thanks to Pinterest for the fun images!)



Science Is Fun!

Ok. Let's face it. Science is not my thing. I didn't excel at in school. I don't excel at it now. (Did I mention I majored in English Literature in college? The Canterbury Tales. Now THAT is my thing.) But... I digress. As a homeschooling parent/teacher, I am determined to give all subjects the attention and enthusiasm they deserve. I do have a science program that goes with the curriculum I am using for Flynn.  It is The Catholic Heritage Curricula and I love it.  I wanted to supplement it with monthly activities and decided this month to do apples, leaves, and pumpkins.  The Pumpkin Unit was by far our favorite! Pinterest was a huge inspiration and with a little planning, I discovered Science can be fun! Flynn knew it all along. : )

We started each lesson with one of our favorite books from the October Bin...

We studied the cycle of a pumpkin from seed to pumpkin...

And then planted our own little pumpkin seeds. : )

We read and recreated scenes from our favorite book Big Pumpkin...and we studied a little pumpkin and learned about all of the parts...inside and out. Then we did a Pumpkin Investigation...

We made a hypothesis of how many seeds were inside.

And we were surprised with the result!

Another hypothesis...

Would her little pumpkin sink or float?

Well, it floated.

And we discussed why.

And in an effort to give my baby girl the "Exploding Science" she was waiting for...

We added vinegar to baking soda and watched it go!

Then we discussed why.

Then we did it again!

And it wouldn't be school here without baking!

We finished the unit with some yummy Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

So there you go.

Science is doable.

Even for an English nerd like me. : )

Weekend Plans...Halloween Edition!

So that came quickly! Halloween is almost here! As with most holidays, we will celebrate Halloween over the course of several days. Because. Why not? Halloween comes but once a year, right?

My best friend Marian is joining us for the weekend. I can just tell how very excited she is! But seriously, she and I and Michael Myers of the Halloween movies go waaaay back. So it is only fitting she watches them with me. You know. Since Steve refuses. : ) Marian will be here for dinner Friday night, so we are planning a fun dinner of Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers with mashed potatoes. Peyton is planning on a Halloween cookie pizza for dessert. Later...Halloween movie marathon. With lots and lots of popcorn!

Saturday is free until afternoon Mass, and after, our church is having a turkey dinner. So. Yum! After that, we are planning on our traditional pumpkin carving night! This involves the kids drawing designs on their pumpkins, starting to scoop out the goop...Mom finishing...Dad carving...Marian supervising...and then movies in the dark with lighted jack-o-lanterns. : )

Sunday looks to be cold and rainy. The perfect day to stay in, play games, watch the last of our Halloween movies...have you ever watched the Disney movie Twitches?...and relax. We are planning a fun Halloween meal for dinner before Marian has to head home. We are having Mummy Dogs, Witch's Brew Macaroni and Cheese, Zombie Mandarin Orange Brains, Blood Red Vampire Juice, and Halloween Cupcakes with Dark as Night Frosting. : )

But first, a look back at the week that was here in our October home...

Last Saturday night we wore Halloween to Mass...

And she was happy as could be. : )

After Mass we headed out for pizza, and talked to Madison while we ate. : )

Sunday we baked our Halloween sugar cookies. And Peyton was the master decorator!

This lovely little chapel was recently completely renovated. I am so proud of my husband...He was the fundraising chairman of the project and worked very hard to help restore this very old chapel to its former beauty. During the rededication, I spoke with a woman who told me a story of her grandmother and her friends who would walk every day to this chapel to pray the rosary for their sons fighting in the war.

A fun unit on all things Halloween lent itself to some cute decorations for the schoolroom!

We studied bats and spiders, read about ghosts and witches, and worked with candy corn too.

And we finished it all off with some yummy Candy Corn inspired jello. : )

Then...teacher/mommy relaxed with a pumpkin spice latte...

And this.

Have a wonderful, fun, not-to-spooky Halloween filled weekend, my friends!

Thank you for visiting!

(Pinterest for the last one.)

One Word Wednesday

GUILTY



Fall Fun Day 2016

Pennsylvania is providing some beautiful autumn days this year. And we took advantage of one of those perfect fall days to load up and head to our nearby state park for our annual Fall Fun Day. We do this every year and the kids always look forward to pizza and playing at the park. It is an easy way to spend time together and enjoy the outdoors with minimal effort. Winning! Some years we wear short sleeves and sunscreen, others mittens, hats and scarves. This year. Perfection. Minus the fact we were short one child...this is the first time my Madison wasn't with us, and she was missed. : )

Never too old for the Tube Slide!

My amazing mom joined us and enjoyed the beautiful day!

We took a nice long walk and gathered all types of leaves.

(Note to self: Score for Phys.Ed and Science!)

After we left the park, Steve took the long way home so we could enjoy the leaves...

Enjoy your fall days, my friends!

They are fleeting!