Russell Ramblings: A Fun Week with Co-op & Camping

It was an exciting week around here with the start of our homeschool co-op and a camping trip with grandparents.

In homeschooling, we started our unit study on water this week.  The boys learned that water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen.  They also learned the three forms of water - liquid, solid, & gas - and we created a chart of examples of the three types.  The gas form of water is the most difficult form for them to grasp.  We were blessed with a unique demonstration of water vapor one morning. It was a cool morning, but the sun was shining brilliantly down on my rows of just-hung-out-wash.  AJ suddenly exclaimed, "Look, Mommy, water vapor is coming off our clothing!"  Indeed, there was a lot of water vapor creating steam off our clothing.

Another impromptu event that complimented our water study was the discovering of several old fish bowls in our garage.  The boys immediately decided that they wanted to catch some minnows to put in the bowls.  We observed them for a few days and released them again.  This experience helped the boys understand that oxygen is indeed part of water when we lost some of our first minnows because we didn't add enough oxygen to the water.

As we study water, we are learning the "w" sound and learning about how Jesus gives us living water to drink.

The boys have been counting down the days until the start of our homeschool co-op.  (A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschool families that meet together for classes and/or social activities.  They vary greatly in size and purpose.)  As we were driving to co-op AJ said, "This is the day I've been waiting for for a loooong time!"  

​Our co-op meets 10 days from September-December and 10 days from January-April.  The co-op provides a variety of classes for ages K4-12th grade.  AJ is taking a literature class (based on the Five in a Row curriculum), a music & movement class, and a geography class (focusing on the oceans and continents).  CJ is taking an Animal Kingdoms class, a music & movement class, and a math games class.  It was great to be back at co-op with old and new friends alike.  I enjoy the social aspect as much as the kids do!

The second highlight of the week was that Grandpa and Grandma took the boys camping to a local campground.  Lots of bike riding, fishing, and fun times!  (And a bit of a break for Mom at home.)

How was your week?

This post is linked to the weekly wrap-up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.