Moving right along...

So my last post was early October and we've done a few things since then.   In mid-October, Scott had to travel to Concord, CA for a training he was conducting.  The kids and I met him down there since we had our Marine Biology co-op and Nolan's 4 year check up early that week.  We did lessons in the morning and then spent the rest of the day touring parks and the library.  We also swam at the indoor pool and played in the indoor garden of the gorgeous hotel we stayed in.  The kids favorite part was the Koi Ponds.

After our return from Concord, Meme & Grandpa took Leah & Nolan on a field trip to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.  I'd taken the kids there a few years ago, but they were both much smaller :)  They had a great time with Mema & Grandpa and Leah still mentions random facts about the salmon, so I'm guessing she was paying a little attention during the presentation.

If you've read our family blog, you know about the Spider-man craze in our household.  It has even permeated into our school on occasion as you can see in one of the photos to the right.  Both kids were wearing their Spider-man masks during our lessons one day.  Even now, their Spider-man figurines help choose the cards with sounds on them, they help read certain words and sing our memory verses with us.

Speaking of memory verse, the kids did accomplish memorizing the entire Star Spangled Banner-all four stanzas!  A few of the beginning verses still need some prompting, but once they hear the first word or two-they are off!  Our next memory verse to learn is America the Beautiful. 

We took a field trip in November to a horse ranch-The Ranch of Light in Shingle Springs.  The ranch has taken in many injured or abandoned horses over the last few years.  Leah was able to groom a horse and then ride a horse & she was thrilled.  Nolan on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the horses.

Leah is really enjoying the Marine Biology Co-op we are a part of this year.  It's been fascinating learning about some of God's amazing underwater creatures. So far we've covered whales, dolphins, sea turtles, Seals, Sea cows, sea snakes and amphibians, primeval reptiles and different kinds of fish.  I think the "students" favorite part of the lesson-at home anyways-is when we try to recreate how the particular marine animal moves, especially "hauling out" like a seal, "spy hopping" like a dolphin, and crawling like a female sea turtle on land.

We also spend lots of time at the library and we were excited to visit one in Sacramento near my aunt's house.  The library is fairly new, and my cousin spent this summer helping an artist paint a mural in the children's section.  So the kids and I went down to play at a local park & then view the amazing mural.  The picture with "Dorothy" is a part of the mural my 17 year old cousin painted.  She is an extremely talented young lady indeed!  If she wasn't heading off to college next year, I'd have to hire her for Leah's art teacher!

Along with academics, the students at Oak Valley Academy learn life skills.  You'll see a picture of Leah in her hard hat learning the art of debris removal. Nolan and Leah observed community service and environmental services when we went to cut down our Christmas tree with our permit from the US. Dept. of Forestry. They were able to use some engineering skills when they built a mock Santa's sleigh. Nolan and Leah also honed up on their sewing skills by stringing popcorn for our Christmas tree and again used their engineering and art skills as they decorated Gingerbread houses.  Who knew the holidays could be so educational! 

Merry Christmas everyone!