First Day of School:

Nature Studies:🌿

We had a fantastic first day back at 5 Acre Woods Homeschool Enrichment! After orientation, we headed out to our outdoor classroom, where the Foxes (6th - 9th) and Otters (3rd - 5th) got creative making their very own nature journals. Each student learned the art of bookbinding and decorated their journal with unique symbols and colors, resulting in some truly one-of-a-kind creations!

Our Ducklings had a busy afternoon in Forest School, too! We learned how to wet felt wool and made little felted balls for future projects. We also spent time weaving on our group loom, practicing our over-and-under pattern, while one sweet student taught some friends how to fold beautiful origami cranes. Busy hands, happy hearts, and plenty of creativity all around!

Leadership, Literature & Filmmaking 🎬📚

We kicked off our leadership studies by learning about the Iroquois Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace through the story Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. This led to a great conversation about what makes a strong leader. We agreed that great leaders can bring people together to accomplish a common goal, along with a few other important qualities. One student also suggested that being very good-looking might help. 🤣

We created Venn diagrams comparing the traits of good and poor leaders, then watched a clip about the Iroquois Confederacy and the Great Law of Peace. We’ll continue the conversation next week before turning our attention to the leadership of George Washington.

K–2 Update 🌞🧪

Our K–2 students had a STEAM-filled day! In Singing and Science, we sang I'm a Little Teapot and conducted an experiment that used vinegar and baking soda to inflate balloons with gas. Science can be pretty exciting when balloons are involved! 😆

In Astronomy, we learned about the sun and enjoyed several books inspired by our closest star. 🌞 Then we got wonderfully messy creating covers for our astronomy books using shaving cream and food coloring. The finished covers look like colorful suns and will become part of astronomy books the students will adding to throughout the semester. By the end, they'll have their very own celestial creations to take home!

What a joyful start to the semester. We can't wait to see what next week brings! 🌲

History & Art 🦚🍵

In History, we traveled back to India to learn about the events that led to England gaining greater influence and control there, including the tragic incident known as the Black Hole of Fort William and the East India Company’s retaliation.

To help us better understand the cramped conditions inside the prison, we created a to-scale model and used M&M’s to represent the people inside. It was a powerful (and yummy) way to visualize just how small the space was and sparked some thoughtful discussion.

We then shifted into Art, where we enjoyed warm chai tea while drawing beautiful peacock feathers using Prismacolor pencils. History, art, tea, and M&M’s made for a colorful afternoon! 🦚✨