Soap Making

Soap Making

by Britany

About a week before Christmas our co-op group got together to have a cookie exchange and to make soap. To make the soap we sliced up a large block of soap and melted it in the microwave. When the soap was melted, we poured it into some small molds with cool designers on them. We put a couple drops of food coloring into the soap and mixed it up until it was the color we wanted it to be. Then, we sprayed it with rubbing alcohol so it would not have air bubbles in it when it hardened. We also made a pan full of plain soap with fragrance in it. It was a lot of fun making the soap, and it makes a great gift for the holidays.

Who is she?

Who is she?

By Britany Freeman

I know a little blond girl with bright blue eyes and is very special. She is five years old and missing a tooth in the front of her mouth. Her favorite colors are pink, blue, red. She loves to watch princess movies. Her favorite princess is Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. She loves to play with dolls, dressing up, and rollerskating. Her favorite foods are tacos, pizza, and the only vegetable she will ever eat is broccoli. Although she likes to complain she us still very sweet. Can you guess who she is?

Valentines Party

Valentine's Bingo

A beautiful day to play outside with friends.

Dipping chocolate

Our baby visitor.

Giving Valentines to our friends.




My Valentine to the kids - an iLove.
(Fashioned from a box of conversation hearts.)

Appalachian Caverns

Ronnie - We went on a field trip to the Appalachian Caverns with the whole homeschool group. We went on a tour and learned lots of cool stuff, like

• Bat poop is in some beauty products and even Doritos!
  
• That there is acid in carbonated sodas.
  
• There are blind fish and they became blind because of the cave being so dark.
  
• There is 30% more oxygen in caves than on the surface.

Mitchell - During the civil war soldiers went down into the cavern and had a little area where they doctored the sick and helped the injured, because the air in the cave has more oxygen that outside, and because they could hide. Also, there was actually a little place in the wall that acted like air conditioning, because cool air blew through there. We saw a place that had names of civil war soldiers scratched into the cave wall. As they cleared the cavern they found spoons, bottles and things that would help the sick.Lizzy - We learned about stalactites and stalagmites. The stalactites are the ones that go down. We saw a cave pearl, which is not in a clam. :) There was a cliff in the cave that was called the lovers leap. If a couple never fought and were just perfect, they could hold hands, jump, and survive the fall.Britany - We were in a group of 17 people, most of which were little people. It felt really cold in the cave, but really it was 58 degrees. Our tour guide said that if we got hit with cold water that it meant the cave had kissed us, but , but if you got hit with warm water, then a bat just flew over your head! Our tour guide was very funny. It was interesting seeing the bats. They are still in hibernation. They are so small. We learned that some Indians still gather there for meetings. There is a small pond in the cave, but we can't drink out of it because it has parasites in it that will give you diareah. At the end we saw an actual fish fossil in the cave that is really old.
Mary - The bats are cute! There are brown and black ones, but the brown ones are the cutest. The caves were very fun, and when it was over we bought rings in the gift store.

Enjoying our computers

Pericles

We have been reading the book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" by E. Nesbit. This is our first introduction to Shakespeare and we are amazed with how complicated his plays are. We have taken to keeping a pictorial record as we read in order to keep things straight. Yesterday our finished diagram cracked us up and I thought I would share. :)

Volunteer work

The kids have really put their heart into the volunteer activities we've participated in this Fall. Mary, Britany and Lizzy fed the homeless with our Sunday School class in November, and all of the kids participated in packing lunches which would be passed out to anyone who came in for a meal. In December all of us went with our Sunday School class to sing Christmas Carols at the VA's convelescent home. While we were there, the kids passed out reindeer candy canes that we all made. Britany and I also volunteer in AWANA Cubbies. I do the story and she does the puppet show.

I've been really impressed with all of the kids desire to give. They have truly given their all to each activity we're had the opportunity to be involved in.

Britany, Cubbie and Zippy

Moving

Once we became 8 we found it necessary to move out of our happy little schoolroom...

...and begin transforming the basement. Everyone helped...

...and now we are settled in...

...with plenty of room for everyone.

Mary's first day of school

I'm hoping to utilize the Christmas break to catch up on our blog!

These pictures are from Mary's first day of school with us. We went to the airport for a tour, the highlight of which was a look at their fire department. Mary had the opportunity to put on one of their suits, and also to sit in the massive (and I do mean MASSIVE) fire truck. The most memorable fact of the day was that the stuff they spray on an airplane which is on fire is made of a combination of water and cat-gut. It smells as bad as the whole idea of it sounds!

Intercity Ballet presents the Nutcracker

In December we went to the Nutcracker Ballet performed by the Intercity Ballet at the Eastman Auditorium. We all enjoyed it when it snowed inside the auditorium. (Really it was paper hole punches.)

• Mary's favorite part was the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.
• Britany liked the Mouse King the best.
• Gracie liked the Dancing Snowflakes in the Land of Snow most.
• Alli liked it best when the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier danced at the end.
• Mitchell and Ronnie most enjoyed the fight scene between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker and their armies.