Volcano Madness

We studied Venus last week with Apologia, so we created a "volcano". The point of the volcano wasn't for it to blow up, but for us to study lava flow.  

getting ready:) 

the official Lava pour-er!

and one melty volcano!

the flour made a great stand in for the dusty surface of Venus, and melted butter cut through the "dust" just like hot lava. :) 

Asteroid Madness

My poor blog has been neglected this week, but I promise the midgets and their homeschooling has not :)

Just finished studying Mercury, and of course we needed to do an experiment.....

We recreated the craters on Mercury with pans of flours (the surface of Mercury is covered in thick dust), using rocks and balls as asteroids. Not sure what the educational value of this was......we did compare the size and shape of craters made. But anywho....they enjoyed it and hopefully it helped cement some "Mercury Facts" into their brains :) 

the Crater throwers ready to fire....

 craters made of rocks

 golf ball crater

 juggling ball crater

and marble craters. 

yummy science :)

We have been studying the Sun with Apologia Science. This week is our experiment week. The Official name of the experiment is "Magnifying the Sun" but the kids call it "melty chocolate bars" hehe. Science is so much better when it is both fun and yummy! So the kids used magnifying glasses to melt candy bars with sunbeams, they had to decide whether a large sunbeam (glass far from chocolate) or a small sunbeam (glass close to chocolate) would melt the candy bar. There was of course a "control" candy bar sitting in the sun to test non-magnified melting time {I sacrificed and ate the control for them :) }

I would tell you the results...but I think you should try it for yourself.... :)

setting up the experiment

the chocolate melters

looking for a sunbeam

found one

melty success 

oh, was I supposed to melt this???

Holey candy bar

happy with her results

how to eat a melty candy bar :)

Yum yum! Love Science! 

where in the world are the matz monkeys?

Ah, the hectic joys of being a homeschooler :) So where in the world (school) have we been? We have been studying the Sun, Noah and the flood, making art collages, watching fiddler on the roof, with a little math, grammar and phonics thrown in.
I have been researching how to teach a right-brained thinker....this year is full of new experiences. The world of APD (audio processing disorder) Dyslexia and Dysgraphia is cloudy and hard to grasp. So many claim to have just the right program to help my kids.... How do I know which really is the right one? Well, it will be through trail and error, with lots of prayer. We are starting HERE .  Hopefully our new reading program will be here soon. At this point I am totally up for suggestions, does anyone know what I should be doing???

Well, in the mean time, we have been learning! The boys just mastered the first level of Hooked on Phonics for this year, L just mastered a whole grade level of math and is excited to move on, She also decoded and read a book for her ES yesterday.....a tough feat for a kids with APD, she is SOOO proud :)

S had a sick day yesterday and in between naps had fun making collages with found objects.

T is working on a timeline of Noah and the flood

we started a timeline for this years Mystery of History, not quite a masterpiece, but we are having fun :)

We are enjoying the solar system with Apologia, currently we are studying the Sun

I am determined to make this year fun for all of the kids. I cried for 2 days after getting L and S tested for learning disabilities, then I woke up and realized that God didn't make a mistake on either of them, the are perfectly how he created them, and just how I love them! I never want them to feel dumb or behind, just loved, nurtured and creative. Seriously what could be better than being a right-brained thinker :) 

My very eager mother just served us nine pancakes ;) {& yummy enchiladas}

I have been trying to blog, but blogger has been giving me fits.....hence I am slightly behind. We just finished chapter 1 in our Astronomy book. Last week the kids had fun making up silly sentences to remember the planets, like the one in the title. We also made a "not quite to scale" model of the solar system to hang from the ceiling of the classroom.

This week we started a 3 week study of the sun, staring with illustrations for their note books. 

Last night I dug into my life saving (well at least dinner saving) freezer meals........and made White Chicken Enchiladas. OHMY can you say yummy! This is a new family fave! I found this recipe on a weight watchers recipe blog, this blog is amazing!  And this recipe worked amazingly as a freezer meal

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde

Chicken and White Bean Filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/3 can water
• 1 chicken bullion
• 1 tsp cumin

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 7 oz can chopped green chile
• 2 jalapeños, chopped (I used jarred)
• salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

• 3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 8 medium low carb tortillas
• chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!)

Preheat oven to 375°.


For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover.Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalepeños, and salt to tatse. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish.Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions. 

{enjoy :)   time to wrangle the monkeys off to school!}