Evolution or Creation?

We recently visited a horse museum in Negishi. The kids had a lot of fun. It was a bittersweet day for me- memories of my beloved horse that we are currently boarding in Seattle hit me and left me very upset that we were not together. Sigh, only two and half more years until we transfer and I can have my horse at home again. As a natural trimmer, I also couldn't help critique the horse's feet and cringed sat quite a few of the unbalanced, high heeled and long toed hooves I saw. I really wish there was not such a large language barrier that prevents me from being able to help these guys.

The museum set up is very nice and focuses on the role horses served in Japan. We couldn't read any of it but the pictures and artifacts helped. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed in those sections. There was a neat interactive kids section though that had saddles to sit i and a few other cute activities. There was also a skeletal section that showed how horses evolved throughout the years in body shape and size. This spurred on a question about evolution or creation.

Our family is Christian and we do believe in God but we also believe and support science. Evolution/creationism has been a sticky topic in the past because we knew so many that did not support the fact that we discuss evolution with the kids. it is always nice to find fellow open minded homeschoolers. Does your family teach one or the other; or does your family, like mine, focus on the fundamentals of one but the proof of another? This is one of the many "pros" that I love about  the many pros and cons of homeschooling- the freedom to explore EVERYTHING and make our own decision about how to present it!

New Homeschool Curriculum

I am SO excited! The past couple of weeks we received so much homeschooling resources and curriculum in the mail. The kids cannot wait to begin- the only problem is deciding what to begin with!

For the summer we decided to do unit studies. We love unit studies and I am am actually a little sad that we got far away from them this past school year. I chose some of the topics but there are two that the kids picked: Buddhism and Caves. I feel so fortunate to live somewhere to let my kids chose these topics and get to learn about them with hands on experience. I ordered many books and documentaries about both subjects but the bulk of the learning will be when we get to visit different Buddhist temples and explore local caves! 

We also ordered NEOE Complete Science Kits. They look amazing and i cannot believe how much we got in them Brandon got the physics and chemistry kit. Squidwad and the Princess are sharing biology, physics and chemistry. Tonnes of research book were included in each kit and everything needed to do many experiments! I am happy to have found these because we neglected science this year, instead focusing a bulk of our learning on language arts for the little ones, history for Zombie Boy and Match for everyone.We are actually beginning them today- I cannot wait to post a review of each kit! 

It is also nice to let the kids enjoy playing learning games to continue to help with their spelling. We will still make spelling flashcards but they can use the words while having fun, helping them retain the spelling. 

This will be our first year without the comfort of an umbrella school. It is a little intimidating but I feel it is the right time in our homeschool journey. All summer long I will be preparing for our next schoolyear and we might just continue with unit studies:)

Baby Crow Rescue

Last week we took in a bird that needed a little help. This baby crow was picked up by a family on base because it couldn't fly or move very well. Upon further inspection, it looks as though his legs are crooked and one of his wings is injured. The Chief thinks he got these injuries from falling out of the nest too soon because he isn't quite a fledgling yet.

Our goal is to rehab this guy and hopefully release him to the wild. Unfortunately, Japan does not view animals culturally like we do and I do not have a wildlife rehab centre to take him to. I realize that I may take my views on animals, both wild and domestic, to an extreme as well but honestly, I don't see how having respect for animals is a bad thing. I have already been questioned as to why I would waste my time with "just a crow" but in my mind this crow is still a living being and I just want to ensure it is given the best chance and treated humanly. We do have some experience with birds form raising chicken, goose and turkeys as well as fostering doves in Florida so I am hoping we don't do anything to injure him further, both physically and mentally. I also stayed up all night on Saturday talking to various wildlife rehab centres in BC and the PNW to help me decide the best course of action with this guy.

The little guy eats every couple of hours and I have to physically put he food in his mouth. He is on a diet of dog kibble, eggs, salmon, raw meat bits, meal worms and small veggie scraps. Crows are scavengers so thankfully their normal diet is a mess of things they happen to find (usually in the garbage here in Japan). His little hungry call is so cute and he has associated me with food so he gets very excited when he sees me. I also ensure to keep the ruckus ofour kids and other animals away from him so he doesn't get too stressed out.

To try to help his legs, we have constructed a sling to hang him in for short periods throughout the day. The goal is to get his legs stretched out and encouraging him to clutch with his digits. If he is unable to do this as he grows, he will not be able to live in the wild.

He does have mites, but thankfully with further research, I found they were bird specific mites that do not like people as hosts. I still think they are gross since they still crawl in us when we handle him so I have ordered some DE that will hopefully begin next week to dust him with. Until then, I am keeping handling to a minimum. Thankfully, he seems healthy and alert. I am really hoping for a full recovery. Please send all of your good energy to this little guy- he really needs it!

Zombie has shown interest in going to summer camp once again this year. He found an awesome on in Idaho that is all about BMX and the instructors are actual x-game champions. He is also interested in a snowboarding one in Utah. We are applying this this week and will hopefully hear back on his selection soon. The little ones are glad to be done with school and are enjoying their break. What is funny about that, is the fact that they are still focusing on learning without even knowing it! The Princess enjoys reading everyday and playing literature games online. Squidward is learning the importance of spelling as he is writing his own research papers on a variety of topics that he is interested in. I highly doubt this would be happening if we didn't homeschool but when learning is just a normal part of the day it just happens!  

Unit Studies

Least week was our last official week of school wit our umbrella school in Canada. My kids are so excited to be "done". I use the term loosely because we never really are done with learning, we just tone down the actual curriculum learning in the summer. 

A few years ago, we did unit studies as a family and enjoyed them very much. This summer, and possibly in to the fall, we are going to dive in to unit studies again. The concept is wonderful- find topics that interest your child, find resources to support learning within that subject and incorporate specific learning goals while studying.

For example, my kids are so excited to learn about caves this summer. On Amazon, I ordered many books for us to read. Since I have a middle schooler, an elementary reader and a beginner reader, I ensured to get varying level of reading books so that each child could enjoy reading. I also ordered books about cave animals so that each child could pick one they really like and research into that animal. I personally love having my kids make presentations and I am sure each child will pick something to do with caves to present. Zombie enjoys making power points, Sqwidward likes creating online stories and The Princess loves making posters to hang on the wall. To really solidify the learning of caves, I have found some local caves to visit and explore- how fun!!! Each child has picked a few subjects to study and we are very excited!

Over the summer, the little ones will continue on with their elementary online curriculum and Zombie has interest in classes for an online writing curriculum. While they will still complete these, it won't be as strenuous over the summer as it is in the fall and winter.