Work Smart Mom

Florida Governor's Mansion

Friday we toured Florida Governor's Mansion. This is the second mansion constructed and is about 13,000 sq ft, situated on 4.9 acres. The first mansion was made of wood and therefore unsuitable for Florida's weather. We learned how the Governor’s Mansion is both a museum of Florida history and a residence for the Governor. Artifacts on display include the USS Florida Silver Punch Bowl, St. Augustine artifacts from the 14th-18th centuries, and undersea artifacts during Florida's Age of Exploration.

Living History - 1880s

Last week, we learned about farming in the present. This week, living history interpretation of an 1880s farm.

*Blacksmithing *Cooking in a farmhouse *Wood carving *Grinding sugar cane *Syrup making

Florida's Emergency Operations Center

Today we toured Florida's Emergency Operations Center. This Center is used whenever the Governor declares a disaster in Florida. On our guided tour, we learned about emergency management, meteorology, and weather safety.

White Oak Pastures

Last week we visited White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA - a 150 year old, multi-generational family farm. They are the only farm in the United States that has both beef and poultry abattoirs on the property. We observed the beef and poultry abattoirs, biddy and bunny barn, egg candling machine, greenhouses for potatoes, and 6 acre organic vegetable farm. After the tour, we enjoyed lunch at the White Oak Open Air Restaurant, featuring food grown and raised right on the farm. Monday - Saturday, the restaurant primarily feeds their 100+ employees.
And daddy joined us this time around. ;-)

Homeschool Curriculum: 2015-2016

K5-First Grade

Where have I been?!

I'm going to attempt to do better with blogging. I started by reading my first post on my tentative curriculum plans. Well, I never went that route.

We officially started in July 2015. Soon after starting, I discovered that with the exception of reading and math, the Kindergarten material was too basic for her. I decided to use the following:

Reading Eggs
Mathseeds
Community Helpers
Rainforest Journey - Life Science
My America and My World 1
Health, Safety, and Manners 1
Discovering God's World 1
Scholastic Success With Grammar, Grade 1
Apologetics Press: Exploring God's Word - Year 1

Does this look like a lot? It's really not. As of October 2015, we have not started My America and My World, and Rainforest Journey is complete. Also, since Mathseeds does not allow us to skip lessons, I've been supplementing with a first grade math workbook. We are about 4 lessons away from first grade.

3-2-1 Blast Off!

This morning Kay attended 3-2-1 Blast Off! at the Challenger Learning Center. It was a day of exploring the solar system and all things NASA! She built a sundial, watched a show in the planetarium, explored the space mission simulations, and made an edible sun!

Museum Day - Snakes

This morning the theme at the Tallahassee Museum was snakes. Kay learned about different snakes, what being cold-blooded means, and the difference between poison and venom. She also learned what to do (and not to do) if she ever sees a snake. There was hands-on activities and of course - live snakes!

STEM Saturday

In our adventures today, we learned about physical changes and chemical changes. We also briefly explored pressure and static electricity.

WCTV Studios Tour

Last week we toured the WCTV studios, learned about weather forecasting, and how news is reported.

STEM Saturday

This weekend we learned about fingerprints and what makes them so special, pollution, and pH balance. As far as the pH levels, I thought it would be over her head and at times I didn't think she was listening, but when asked she correctly picked the best water for drinking!