IT'S BEEN JUST OVER A YEAR, SINCE WE MUMMIFIED OUR CHICKEN FOR OUR MINI-UNIT STUDY ON EGYPT....  YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE AND HOW FRESH THE CHICKEN LOOKED IF YOU CLICK HERE, WHICH I THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO SO YOU CAN COMPARE...  OKAY... CLICK HERE AND THEN COME BACK AND FINISH READING: 

FRESH PICTURES OF HOW WE MUMMIFIED OUR CHICKEN

BACK TO THURSDAY LATE AFTERNOON...  BRAD DUG UP THE HOMEMADE TOMB AS TOMMIE AND HIS FRIEND RILEY WATCHED...  I MADE A LOT OF FACES LIKE THE ONE ABOVE!!!

THE BOYS WERE CHECKING THINGS OUT.....

IT APPEARS WE MAKE A LOT OF UGLY, DISGUSTING-LOOKING FACES HERE AT THIS HOUSE....  MAYBE I SHOULD USE THE PICTURE BELOW FOR OUR CHRISTMAS CARDS?

THIS IS WHAT WAS INSIDE THE TOMB!  WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES...  HOPEFULLY, YOU CLICKED ON THE LINK  ABOVE, SO YOU CAN COMPARE!

ONCE AGAIN...THE BOYS, INCLUDING BRAD...CHICKENED OUT!  (PUN INTENDED).  SO, I HAD TO PULL THE CHICKEN OUT OF THE TOMB...WHILE THE BOYS, INCLUDING BRAD HELD THEIR NOSES, JUMPED AND DID TWIRLY BIRDS AND SAID THINGS LIKE..."THAT'S JUST SICK!"... "OH, YUCK!"... AND THE LIKE.

AS I UNWRAPPED THE CHICKEN-MUMMY.... THE SMELL OF IT WAS MORE THEN ANY OF US COULD STAND...IT WAS THE WORST-SICKENING SMELL I HAVE EVER SMELLED.  THE WAVE OF NAUSEA HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS!

THE MUMMY-CHICKEN SHRUNK DOWN TO ABOUT HALF OF THE ORIGINAL SIZE.

IT WAS REALLY SLIMEY...(AM I GROSSING YOU OUT, YET?)  AND ROCK HARD.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE.... THURSDAY WAS PREDICTED TO BE ONE OF OUR LAST NICE DAYS OF THE YEAR....  AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!   

ONE OF MY BIGGEST PET PEEVES ABOUT EDUCATION IS HOW THE MINDSET OF EDUCATORS ARE....  IN MY PUBLIC SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, I WAS TAUGHT THAT A "GOOD" EDUCATION COULD ONLY HAPPEN IN THE GOVERNMENT'S BRICK AND MORTAR BUILDING... ON PAPER, FILL OUT THE BLANKS,  DRILL, KILL AND FORGET, MOVE ON, DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, AND HEAVEN FORBID YOU LET YOUR PEERS KNOW YOU DON'T "GET" SOMETHING!!! 

I'VE FOUND THAT EVEN IN HOMESCHOOLING, IT'S EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN FILLING OUT WORKBOOK PAGES... AND TAKING PRIDE IN KNOWING YOU COMPLETED "LESSON 45"...  OR CHECKING THE BOX:  A, B OR C  TO DETERMINE ALLITERATION...(WHICH BY THE WAY, YOU CAN SUCCESSFULLY TEACH IN THE CAR!!) 

 THAT SAID...  FOR US, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOT JUST KNOW HOW TO FIGURE MATH OUT ON PAPER, BUT TO  BE ABLE TO APPLY IT TO REAL LIFE.  AND, UNDERSTAND WHEN AND WHERE YOU WOULD USE THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS.

SO, ON THURSDAY, WE DID "TRUCK SCHOOL."    BRAD HAS 30 TIRES ON HIS TRUCK AND TRAILER...  I MADE A SMALL STACK OF BLUE PAPERS (SEE BELOW) THAT SAID "FLAT."  I RANDOMLY HID THEM IN THE TIRES...  AND, TOMMIE HAD TO COME ALONG AND FIGURE OUT WHAT FRACTION AND PERCENT OF THE TIRES WERE FLAT...AND REDUCE THE FRACTIONS.

WE PLAYED THIS GAME OVER AND OVER AND OVER.  IT KEPT HIS "BOY-ENERGY" MOVING!!

NEXT, WE MOVED INSIDE THE TRUCK AND USED THE MANY GAUGES TO CREATE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROBLEMS...  I LOOKED THROUGH OUR HORIZONS 5 MATH BOOK, AND WENT IN-LINE WITH WHAT THEY'RE TEACHING...ONLY I TWEEKED IT TO BE "HAND'S-ON."

SUCH AS:  ROUNDING OFF, VALUE POSITIONS, ADDING NUMBERS TO VALUE POSITIONS, CREATING SMALLER AND LARGER NUMBERS...AND SIMPLE ADDING AND SUBTRACTING OFF THE DIFFERENT GAUGES. 

I ALSO XEROXED FOUR OF MY PERSONAL CHECKS OFF ON PAPER...  I GAVE HIM "USED" INVOICES TO COPY AND FILL OUT FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WRITE CHECKS.  I HAD HIM FIGURE OUT SALES TAX FOR EACH, AS WELL. 

smile- wink-nod!

Posted by kcmyworld

How clever! I love hearing about those who've taken what they have around them and incorporated it into school.

Robin

Posted by Anonymous

Wow, Michele. This is great stuff. You always come up with the best ideas. Thanks for the encouragement to "do" more.

Brandi

Posted by healthyhomeschool

I read this the other day but did not have time to comment. Time has lost all meaning around here lately as I run from one thing to another. My work schedule is altered tomorrow as well for an appointment with Hubby to the cardiologist.

Anyway, I wanted to come back and comment. Now you are brave as far as the chicken goes. Way braver than me. I can handle live critters, but I just cannot imagine! LOL.

The math you do is amazing. I cannot tell you how many people I graduated with who had passed Algebra II but who could not balance a check book and had no concept of applying percentages and counting change in real life.

Lynn