No School = Lots of Learning

This week has been one of those weeks when we did not get a lot of actual sit down school done. Just after coming off break with such a momentum going, this week life just stepped in our way. However, Tuesday we did have fun out at the barn, arriving there at 9:30 a.m. and not getting home until 1:00. Selena learned all about the different types of hay, as well as grains that are fed to horses and helped prepare the feed for the evening and next morning feedings. We also rode for over an hour which we both had a great time, leading the horses without a lead rope, to riding without reigns. We played a lot of games on the horses, and tried to ride around the arena holding hands, which might sound easy but believe me it is not, you really have to know which horse needs to slow down and which one needs to speed up as you go around corners. Great therapy as it promotes working with others.

Then came the rest of the week, our thermostat needed to be replaced, Selena had fun helping and watching as our Landlord changed the thermostat. She learned why we turn the power off, why we wire the thermostat a certain way, and the safety that is needed when working around electricity. She also got to watch as our toilet was replaced. She spent the entire trying to help, watch and ask 101 questions. We are so lucky that those who come into our home to do repairs are so good about allowing Selena these opportunities to learn. My favorite picture is of her watching the toilet go in.

During down times Selena discovered her Magnet Science kit again and had fun exploring about magnets. Sometimes these science kits sit for long periods of times in her science cupboard, never touched, then she will pull one out and spend hours each day just exploring, playing, and again asking 101 questions about how it works, why and what for.

 This weekend we drove out to Ocean Shores and visited with Laurie her horse instructor. We had a good visit and Selena loved playing with her dog and visiting with her bird. While it poured down rain here it was very pleasant at the beach and even sunny. Selena enjoyed seeing so many different birds on the water from ducks and many other species, watching them dive under the water to catch fish. Deer who came into feed, and just the beauty of the beach life. To be honest I would love to move to Ocean Shores.

Sometimes even when we do not get to sit down and do actual school work, we discover so much more to learn. Oh and before I forget, Selena even made mashed potatoes all by herself! I had just put the potatoes in the mixer when the electrician arrived to inspect something, I got busy helping him, and Selena took it upon herself to go in and finish the potatoes for me. She did an excellent job and was totally unsupervised!

Lot's of Learning

We have continued to answer all the questions that keep stacking up daily from the numerous questions Selena asks. It is amazing how many questions she can ask in one day. How is a guitar made? Yes, we did a unit study on how a guitar is made which Selena found very interesting, but also brought about more questions. One fact she learned was that they only use 400 to 500 year old trees, so of course Selena wanted to know how to tell how old a tree is.

That led us to a study of counting rings on a tree. Selena learned not only can one find out how old a tree is by counting rings but also the history of the tree, including what the weather pattern was during the tree's growth. She will probably never see a stump or piece of wood the same way ever again.

Some of the other questions that we have been exploring which has been added to our list of things to learn, is why does the moon seem larger then it really is? One day coming home from town the moon was faintly seen in the sky it looked huge, as Selena put it, "The moon looks like it is going to crash into the Earth!" Later upon observation the moon looked it's normal size, so we were off to explore this Moon illusion, or Optical illusion.

One evening Selena insisted on knowing why men have more hair then women as she tugged and pulled the hair on Papa's arm. We are not quite finished looking into this but will report what we discover.

We are also looking into how animals survive the extreme cold weather, Selena has already explored and discovered how thicker the horses coats are getting. Along with this she is discovering how much less hair we are shedding during bath or shower time, so we are going to track this through the winter and again through the spring and summer.

Of course Selena is having her usual fun of decorating, and redecorating the Christmas tree again this year.