Week 8

 I am responsible

I am respectful

I am a peacemaker

"Keep trying. Keep believing. Be happy. Don't get discouraged.

 Things will work out!"

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Highlights

J: My highlight was finding "fairies" and singing Christmas songs. 
(She's our little Christmas elf)

A: My highlight of the week was the game that I made.

LA- We had a webinar with author J. Scott Savage who talked about how our different brains can help us solve problems.

We also played After the Manner of the Adverb.  One person leaves the room while the others come up with an adverb. The selected person is then called back into the room and asks the others to do something "after the manner of the adverb". For example if the selected adverb was quietly, and they said jump after the manner of the adverb, everyone- or the people they asked- would jump quietly.  If they need more hints, the person who is it, can ask people to do up to three actions after the manner of the adverb. 

Science- We harvested our pumpkins which means we may have to admit fall is here.

The kids (and Dragon) also found a cool spider web.

Static Electricity- Dancing snakes, raising hair, and bending water.

Science Extra: Game created by A- All by himself, A invented a fun game with some animal fact cards he has. He divided them up amoung players. The first player could play any animal and then the next player had to play one that could either be a prey, predator, or escape/defend itself against that animal. They did not have to be from the same habitat if you could explain why it would be a prey, predator, or fight back/escape from that animal if they were put together. The game ended with a White Tail Deer since we decided the animals remaining (goat, sheep, and cow) would not be able to outrun or defend themselves very well if a deer attacked them. We got a good laugh and some good critical thinking out of that game.  

PE- Ninja course

And hike, which is always science as well.

Found acorns!

Flooded trail. Good thing we have been working on our ninja skills.  :)

We found where the fairies live.

Presidents by J- Franklin Pierce is not a well-known president.... And I've totally forgot everything else about him. He lived when Utah was only a territory though. James Buchanan is infamous for starting the Civil War and for being the worst president in history. I guess Franklin Pierce also didn't stop the Civil War from happening but no one blames him since he was basically forgotten. Then Abraham Lincoln became president. He was one of the best presidents. He helped end the Civil War and slavery. After that, he was, sadly, assassinated. He was like me; he liked to read and write. Andrew Johnson was the first president to become president after the president before him, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated. He was the first president to be impeached. He made most of his own clothes.

Skipping to Teddy Roosevelt- They started making teddy bears because Theodore Roosevelt refused to kill a black bear that was tied up. He was a very adventurous president. He went on a safari to Africa. One time, a would-be assassin tried to kill him when he was going to make a speech. The bullet hit him, but instead of going to the hospital, he made his hour and half long speech first. He made lots of natural parks and national forest. He was the youngest president up to that time. He is rank as one of the top best presidents.

Interesting Note in History by J - This week we studied the Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were accused of being witches and 20 people were killed, including my 10th great grandma, Margaret Scott.*   

*Extra- The Salem Witch Trails are a sad tale of people letting petty annoyances destroy personal lives and their communities. Margaret Scott was the oldest woman hung for witchcraft. She had been a widow for over 20 years and often had to resort to begging to provide for herself. This annoyed her neighbors. They found the frenzied trials a way to be rid of her. Even sadder is the tale of a four-year-old girl who was accused, along with her mother. After spending 7-8 month chained in a dark prison, the four-year-old was released while her mother was hung. This obviously destroyed the girl's mental wellbeing and the widower father was left to care for her (or pay for a caretaker) all the rest of her days.

From Family Search

Exploring Technology- On a happier note, Mark Rober is awesome. We checked out his latest video. Now my kids want to go to an arcade. 

Stay Curious

1. What is the hottest desert? It depends on how you measure. Death Valley in California has the record for the hottest AIR temperature at 134.1 degrees. The Lut Desert in Iran has the hottest SURFACE temperature at 177.4 degrees.

2. What food has the most fiber?  We were talking about nutrition when this question came up. Once again, Google gave inconsistence answers, but foods high in fiber are fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and beans. (Pretty much everything but meat and dairy) Chia seeds tended to come up a lot as super high in fiber, but it's hard to eat a lot of those. We did our best by baking one of our favorite cookies- white chocolate chip with Chia seeds.(Okay, not super nutritious but still delicious)