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| Freaking out before we started |
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| Mom making the 1st cut |
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| Megan decided to check it out |
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| Getting braver |
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| Actually cutting! |
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| So proud of herself |
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| Pointing out the ventricle |
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| Michael begrudgingly decided to check it out |
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| Pointing out the ventricles |
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Heart Dissection
In science today we dissected a sheep heart. It was a really great learning tool (after getting past the freak out!) to be able to see the parts up close that we've been learning about for the past two weeks. Here are some pictures from our adventure. :)
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Weekly Wrap Up - Week 20!
So it has been brought to my attention that I've been neglecting my blog, and here I thought I was the only one who read it. :)
This has been a week of getting back on track. We seemed to have veered from our path some in the past month or so but this has been the week spent righting the ship, so to speak. We got back into a groove and actually accomplished everything I had set out to do, every day. Thank God for small miracles. :)
In history this week we learned about the Phoenicians; how they were great sailors, famous for making glass, and were the first to invent glassblowing. We also learned about how Ashurbanipal and the Assyrians conquered the Babylonians and stormed up and down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers taking over all the cities in their path. We learned that while Ashurbanipal was cruel to the cities he conquered, he created the first library and made his home city of Nineveh a beautiful, wonderful place for those who lived there.
In science we learned about the heart. We created our own models of the heart and learned about all of the different parts and how blood is pumped through the most important muscle in the body. Next week we will be dissecting a heart to see the different parts first hand!
In math both kids are working on area, volume, and fractions as well as continuing to practice the skills they've been taught so far this year.
We've been learning about lines of latitude and longitude in Geography, possessive nouns in Language Arts, and have written some pretty great paragraphs and stories for Writing.
My wheels have also started spinning for next school year. The big decision I'm facing is do we move on to Story of the World - Volume 2 or do we alternate years with US History. My concern is Megan not getting US History again until 7th grade if we follow the 4 year world history program. I'm not quite sure which way the cards will fall with this one but luckily I have some time to figure it out!
The cupcakes are baked, we've practiced our signing, and we are looking forward to a great weekend full of family and friends for birthday celebrations as Megan will be 10 tomorrow!!
I'll leave you with a picture of the birthday girl doing her favorite thing in the world, cooking! :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
This has been a week of getting back on track. We seemed to have veered from our path some in the past month or so but this has been the week spent righting the ship, so to speak. We got back into a groove and actually accomplished everything I had set out to do, every day. Thank God for small miracles. :)
In history this week we learned about the Phoenicians; how they were great sailors, famous for making glass, and were the first to invent glassblowing. We also learned about how Ashurbanipal and the Assyrians conquered the Babylonians and stormed up and down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers taking over all the cities in their path. We learned that while Ashurbanipal was cruel to the cities he conquered, he created the first library and made his home city of Nineveh a beautiful, wonderful place for those who lived there.
In science we learned about the heart. We created our own models of the heart and learned about all of the different parts and how blood is pumped through the most important muscle in the body. Next week we will be dissecting a heart to see the different parts first hand!
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| Heart models |
We've been learning about lines of latitude and longitude in Geography, possessive nouns in Language Arts, and have written some pretty great paragraphs and stories for Writing.
My wheels have also started spinning for next school year. The big decision I'm facing is do we move on to Story of the World - Volume 2 or do we alternate years with US History. My concern is Megan not getting US History again until 7th grade if we follow the 4 year world history program. I'm not quite sure which way the cards will fall with this one but luckily I have some time to figure it out!
The cupcakes are baked, we've practiced our signing, and we are looking forward to a great weekend full of family and friends for birthday celebrations as Megan will be 10 tomorrow!!
I'll leave you with a picture of the birthday girl doing her favorite thing in the world, cooking! :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Monday, December 6, 2010
The Change
Today I reasoned successfully with my son. He got into the shower this morning even though he didn't want to. This may not be a big deal to most of you but for me it's huge! A month ago this would have devolved into an hour long screaming fight. For the past four years we have struggled with an extremely angry, easily frustrated, emotionally unstable, abusive child. We have walked on eggshells and held our breath not having any idea what would set him off next. We have lived everyday feeling like the worst parents on the planet. We have spent more time and money that I care to remember in doctors offices trying to figure out what was wrong to no avail.
That all changed a few months ago when a client of Shawn's told him about how he was a different person because he had finally found the right doctor and was being treated for chronic Lyme disease. This had always been in the back of my mind as a possible culprit because at 2 Michael had Lyme disease. Unfortunately I listened to the doctors who told me that if he was treated then that couldn't be the cause of Michael's problems. But after hearing about this man though and the difference in his life I decided that this was something I needed to pursue. I didn't know where to begin so of course I turned to the internet. It was there that I stumbled onto Lymenet.org and got a doctor recommendation for a Lyme disease specialist that would actually see a child. (believe me this is no small feat, there are very few that will treat children)
Michael has been on antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease for 8 weeks now. 16 days ago the change happened, my own personal Christmas miracle, it all went away. I now live with a completely different child. He used to complain that his brain shook but 16 days ago that stopped, he is now agreeable, helpful, sweet, happy, loving, and apparently can be reasoned with. He doesn't fight at every turn, and I haven't heard the words "you're stupid" or "I hate you" in 16 days. We have never gone 16 days without a meltdown, we are now in uncharted territory and I am a nervous wreck that it will end at any second. I wonder how long it will take before I can breathe that sigh of relief. For now I am just taking it moment by moment and enjoying every second of life with my happy little boy.
I am lucky enough to have been given a miracle and even though I am not overly religious I will thank God every day until I take my last breath for giving me my son back.
That all changed a few months ago when a client of Shawn's told him about how he was a different person because he had finally found the right doctor and was being treated for chronic Lyme disease. This had always been in the back of my mind as a possible culprit because at 2 Michael had Lyme disease. Unfortunately I listened to the doctors who told me that if he was treated then that couldn't be the cause of Michael's problems. But after hearing about this man though and the difference in his life I decided that this was something I needed to pursue. I didn't know where to begin so of course I turned to the internet. It was there that I stumbled onto Lymenet.org and got a doctor recommendation for a Lyme disease specialist that would actually see a child. (believe me this is no small feat, there are very few that will treat children)
Michael has been on antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease for 8 weeks now. 16 days ago the change happened, my own personal Christmas miracle, it all went away. I now live with a completely different child. He used to complain that his brain shook but 16 days ago that stopped, he is now agreeable, helpful, sweet, happy, loving, and apparently can be reasoned with. He doesn't fight at every turn, and I haven't heard the words "you're stupid" or "I hate you" in 16 days. We have never gone 16 days without a meltdown, we are now in uncharted territory and I am a nervous wreck that it will end at any second. I wonder how long it will take before I can breathe that sigh of relief. For now I am just taking it moment by moment and enjoying every second of life with my happy little boy.
I am lucky enough to have been given a miracle and even though I am not overly religious I will thank God every day until I take my last breath for giving me my son back.
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