Update and a Catch all of photos!

It's time again for another catch all of photos and school update!

We finished our study of Europe with an eclectic meal of European treats. We had a baked brie appetizer and sparkling grape juice (ie. wine!) from France, Schnitzel from Germany, Boiled potatoes, creamed cabbage from Norway and Belgian Eclairs for dessert!

The kids favorite part was being able to pound the pork for the schnitzel!!

Just a random cute picture of Isaac and his favorite activity...piggy back rides from his big brothers!

Big brother Luke reading stories to the younger siblings



At the end of our last year studying American history Luke and Ben both wrote to President Obama. Well, the received letters and pictures back in December! They were so thrilled to open mail from the White House!

Science experiment with concrete to see what kind of animal tracks we could record in our backyard. The squirrels were represented plenty!

 Keeping Isaac, Caleb, Jacob and Gracie busy with playdough!

Caleb being a good big brother and helping Isaac eat grapefruit!

Puzzle time!

Water pressure experiment to understand the amazing creator that designed giraffes and the ability to change blood pressure based on whether they are upright or leaning over to drink.

 Gracie's ballet teacher got married this winter, and the ballet studio had a small party for the bride so all her "girls" could see her in her wedding gown. Gracie was so excited to celebrate her Miss Sarah becoming a Mrs!

In January we once again lost our power for over 24 hours due to a massive ice storm in the area. This is becoming an annual event we are not thrilled about! The kids find it to be a great adventure. Building forts to stay warm and staying in PJs all day, what could be more fun? The practical aspects and logistics of feeding and keeping six kids warm when temperatures are in the teens.....not as fun for Mom and Dad!

We actually bundled the kids up and took them out to dinner to have warm food in their bellies before going to bed in the cold!

Look at how ice laden the trees are behind our house, bent over from all that ice!

Gracie continues to plug right along with her school work. She is a natural born speller and mathematician. She is more than halfway through my first grade curriculum in these areas! I can hardly keep her busy enough!

The kids all agree, their all time favorite science experiment was dissecting an owl pellet while we were studying rodents! Mommy tried not to get too grossed out.

Quote from Gracie, "This is the perfect experiment because Luke loves animals, Ben likes to put things back together, and I love puzzles!"

After Europe, we headed to Africa! The older boys especially loved sharing their birth heritage with their siblings during this study. We also were all very interested in the family read aloud we completed, a biography about David Livingstone! Fascinating, and so much more than the famous, "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" quote.

We learned that in some cultures in Kenya, a man's wealth is measured by the amount of necklaces he wears!

We made Ethiopian injera and lentils, and Kenyan skewered beef and coconut greens.

Decorating Valentine cookies with Grandma!

I think more frosting went into the mouths than on the cookies!

Copying the Arabic alphabet during our study of the Middle East and Islam. I forgot to replace my memory card in my camera, so we lost all of our pictures of our Middle East meal. We made Chicken shawarma, Lebanese Basmati rice, and a cucumber and tomato salad. Daddy brought home hummus, pita, and dessert from a local restaurant to complete our meal. Yummy! These unit celebrations can be a bit time consuming, but worth it. The kids eagerly anticipate each new special meal we can share as a family!

We are now jet-setting to the rest of our study of Asia with India, China and Japan!