Our (Not Just Summer) Bucket List

We had this grand idea at the beginning of the summer to have a "Bucket List" of things that we would like to do....  We originally intended for it to be a summer bucket list, but we quickly discovered that it is just way too hot to try to do many of these things this summer, so instead, we thought we would just call it "Our Bucket List."  We currently have it written on our marker board in the kitchen.  (What?  Doesn't everybody have a big marker board in their kitchen?)  Anyway, it is pretty fluid and we have enjoyed adding things to it as we have gone along...  We have mostly chosen things that are within a days drive from our home here in Missouri, but we are branching out into Arkansas and Oklahoma!

Here is what is currently on our Bucket List!

(strike through items are completed but the links are still live!)

Our Bucket List

Marshfield:

Hidden Waters Nature Park

Sushi Night

Marshfield History Museum

Branson:

Runaway Mountain Coaster 

(currently closed)

Mini Golf 

Branson Outlets

The Butterfly Palace 

The Promised Land Zoo 

Silver Dollar City

Dora:

Hodgson Mill

Eminence:

Alley Spring

St. Genevieve:

Bolduc House Museum

Springfield:

Fantastic Caverns 

The Discovery Center

Dickerson Park Zoo

Conservation Nature Center 

Animal Shelter 

Lamberts 

Golden Corral

St. Louis:

Magic House 

St. Louis Zoo

Transportation Museum

Arkansas:

Crater of Diamonds State Park 

Crystal Bridges Art Museum

Oklahoma:

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Random Summer Happenings

Well, we have had a lot of random things going on the last couple of weeks...  We have been staying quite busy and enjoying our summer.  (If only it wasn't so hot!)  We went to the Independence Day Parade where it rained and rained and rained on us.  And it was actually quite cool!

We enjoy the parade.  In fact they say that Marshfield's Independence Day Parade is the longest running parade this side of the Mississippi.  It brings in a LOT of people...  

And they throw candy and give out popsicles and lot of other fun things!

The fire trucks were LOUD! 

Back at home we have been hard at work in the yard.

We have been steadily working to clear out some of the brush and push the tree line further and further back from the house.  

We also chopped down a big tree! 

We had to try out Lamberts for dinner one night.  

It was something that was on our Summer Bucket List!

(I will share our bucket list sometime in another post) 

The girls have gotten back into building interesting creations with loom bands. 

We found this big turtle in our front yard. 

Kayley also brought in this caterpillar which is pretty sure will turn into a luna moth.  She has done a great job of taking care of it... I hope it lives!  It will be really fun to watch it change into a Luna!

Kayley also had her turn to attend zoo camp this week and spent 2 days in Animal Artistry camp.  She had a great time!

James had a birthday...  

I won't tell you how OLD he is, although you can probably figure it out.  LOL!

We also got a brand new dining room table!  

I am so excited!  It can seat 8!

You can kind of see a silly girl in the background "hugging" 

the table because she thought it was so lovely!

We are still chugging along.  We don't have too much of our summer left.  We are already in full planning mode for Back to School!  We are looking at starting the first week of August!  We have to keep that flexibility built in so we can take the rest of "summer" later in the year.  :)

Thanks for swinging by!

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Home School in the Woods - Make-A-State {TOS Crew Review}

Do you love hands-on history?  We sure do! Our homeschool is living-books based and we really love finding a great product that allows us to combine the living books approach with fun, hands-on history activities to really solidify learning.  This summer we have enjoyed using a fun product from Home School in the Woods' Hands-On History series called Make-A-State Activity Pak in the downloadable .pdf version. About Make-A-State Is a state study required for your elementary school student?   Looking to learn more about the history of your state?   Or any state?   This 20 project Pak is so versatile and flexible allowing you to study any state in the US (including Washington D.C.) using both generic black line masters/templates and state-specific downloads. Each Pak includes activities to prompt your student to write creatively and enjoy researching information about the state of your choice.  The Pak also includes geography & mapping activities, government, travel & tourist info, state motto, symbols, quarters, anthems, sports teams, and much more!  The Pak comes with logical, step-by-step instructions that make assembling the lap book a snap.  Also included is a "Name That State!" file folder game to help your student learn more about the states, their shape and location.   While the recommended grade range is 3rd - 8th, my 2nd grader really enjoyed this project with just a few modifications. What We Thought of Make-A-State This was our first time using a product from Home School in the Woods.  I was immediately impressed with how simply laid out the program was.  Upon downloading, each item is tucked neatly away into a digital folder that I saved right to my desktop for easy access.  Following the "start here" instructions led me step-by-step through the printing process to get the materials ready for use.  Investment is minimal, using things we already had at home like colored/white card stock, color/white printer paper, glue sticks, crayons, yarn, brads, and our new best friend: double sided tape!  The instructions provided were amazingly intuitive and uncomplicated to follow.  Believe it or not even my 2nd grader was able to complete several of the steps independently!   My girls chose Arizona (where Maggie, grade 2, was born) and Hawaii (because Kayley, grade 6, would like to visit there someday!)  Using reference books we already owned and a little help from the Internet the girls were able to find the answers to all the research projects.  They each completed 1-2 of the 20 steps each day and completed the project in just over 2 weeks, saving one afternoon for assembly.  

The finished project is really striking.  The girls are both SO proud of their accomplishments!  The completed books currently sit on display on our hearth where the girls have wasted no-time in treating others to a narrative walk-through of their state!  They have had a lot of fun showing off their newly discovered knowledge!

I am SO pleased with the quality of Make-A-State that we already have plans to use more Home School in the Woods projects in our 2017-2018 school year!

The Activity Pak we used is just one in a series of other Paks.  

Home School in the Woods has several other Activity Paks subjects to choose from, including:

The Old & New Testaments

Composers

and Artists!

If you are looking something to enjoy during your history studies you can also check out the Time Traveler Series that includes topics that would dovetail nicely with any American or World History curriculum.  I just purchased The American Revolution for our early modern history studies next year and we can't wait to have another beautiful project to show our friends and family!

And!  One more thing!  I saw an announcement on Home School in the Woods Facebook page that they are now offering "A-la-cart projects!"   These look fantastic!  Even more fantastic is - Home School in the Woods is currently offering the Erie Canal Project free!  Use code alacart at checkout!

You can stay up-to-date on new products by following the author, Amy Pak - Home School in the Woods on Facebook.

Many of my fellow crew mates reviewed other products from Home School in the Woods.  You can check out their reviews by clicking the linky below!  Thanks so much for Swinging By!

What We Are Reading {the Summer Reading Edition}

We have been busy this week but we are still plugging away at our summer reading!  The girls are working hard at earning that $25 Gift Card and have enjoyed a variety of reading.  It's been a real treat to see them find something new to read the that they wouldn't have even picked up otherwise.  

We are all currently working on "comparing a book with a movie."

We have introduced the girls to the world of Harry Potter over the last couple of months and the girls are really loving both the books, the movies and the merchandise.  It has been a lot fun!

Kayley is reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.  To be honest, I'm impressed.  It is a monstrous book and she is clipping along through it quickly.  She hasn't seen the movie but decided that reading the book first is the way to go.  Smart girl!

Maggie opted for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  We have already seen the movie and I think it is helping her to follow the story line a bit better.  She has had a lot to say and share concerning how the movie and book are different...  

I was encouraged by a friend to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S.  Lewis.  Believe it or not, I have NOT read this classic book.  I did see the movie and I've been enjoying picking out some of the subtle differences.  One thing I have really enjoyed is getting some additional "background information" on the characters that just don't come through in the movie.   

For our read aloud, we finished off Ember Falls this week and we all groaned when we were left hanging at the end!  I think it is a clear indication that S.D. Smith must have an 3rd Green Ember book in the works?  I hope so!   

Our next read aloud is Schoolhouse in the Woods by Rebecca Caudill.  This is the 2nd book in the Fairchild Family series and we are enjoying reading something light after the drama of Ember Falls.  The Fairchild Family series follows the adventures of the youngest daughter Bonnie and her older siblings as they live, work and play in the woods of Kentucky.  Sweet stories with great morals.  If you like the Little House series then you would enjoy these!

That's it for this week!

Thanks so much for swinging by!

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Kitchen Chemistry & Mini Worlds

The girls had an opportunity to take a summer science class at The Discovery Center in Springfield last month.  They had such a great time.  Kayley took Kitchen Chemistry while Maggie took Mini Worlds (nano tech).  Their teachers were great and they learned a lot!

The Discovery Center is great for homeschoolers too, offering several classes per year just for homeschoolers, plus Science Sprout days where there are NO scheduled school groups, AND parent/child workshops that include both robotics and dissections!  

I really think Dissections will be on our to-do list this year!

Summer science classes is just one way that we continue learning all summer long.  

Thanks for swinging by!