Successful First Week

Hi, all! I know you teachers understand this when I say that going back to a schedule after a long wonderful summer is...simply...bittersweet! Our day off today felt like it was weeks overdue! HA!

Joshua and I are truly enjoying school this week. His impulsivity is truly growing more character in me (said with gritted teeth). And I miss Jasmine so much, my heart might explode! But, in all honesty, she is super happy to go every day and to tell us what she's learning. Truthfully, it's going well. Here's a glimpse......

First up, was our first 'science experience' - working with classification. So a couple friends donated shoes and we had our mixture too.....I shoulve' photographed the entire room - but here's a small portion of it. First he had to decide on kingdoms (he chose color) then he had to decide on phylum (closed or open shoe) and then order (child or adult). We both had fun doing this. He saw how difficult it would be with living objects in creation! wowzers! all the things to consider!

below was interesting! it starts out yellow.....shades to orange and then becomes pink...this one in particular had all 3 stages - see the tiny berries (seed containers) there? We see the police and private guards eat these (well, not during RamaDaan of course). I heard they taste like grapes - since I also see same people and stray dogs urinate on such plants....I'd rather not taste them, thank you very much.

Below we had to get special permission - again my Arabic came in handy! This is right next to a US Embassy "posting" and I'll leave it at that - the head of security was pleasantly talkative in English after I explained we were doing a school study...he told me the word for this flower, but I forgot to write it down (I didn't bring my own notebook) **edited, apparently "cocks comb" grows in the US, I've apparently never seen it in Michigan but it's there! This place had yellow, red, purple and pink cocks comb.** same word in Arabic..just...in Arabic! ha! Literal translation tho is "chicken" not the rooster distinction.**

We could **not** find any conifers (pine trees). But we're hopeful Grandpa Bob will bring us 3-4 pinecones when he travels this fall.


below is a close up of the sporangia on the wing plant that Joshua is sketching (above) for phylum Pterophyta. try to say that 10 times ;) he is soaking up all we're learning and experiencing in Botany and History (which includes Bible and geography as well)

YES MOSS GROWS IN THE DESERT!
The book we're studying is created for botany in the US - it even tells you what lessons, at what time of year study based on which area of the US....well it says moss grows in the desert. We walked to the most-lush places - zip! nada! But then we stopped at a little landscaping shop that's 100% shaded and even the ground is wet around us....we petted this, and the guy confirmed as well as our research...WE FOUND MOSS IN THE DESERT! Next time we're IN the "actual" desert - we'll look and tell ya if we found any! ha! I doubt it ;) Perhaps in parts of the Sahara where it floods?? Perhaps near the Nile as well...MUCH closer than us! ha!


The last photo was taken during school. I looked out to watch a guy mowing the yard (yes, I still enjoy the sight and sound) and saw this "wagon" there was a guy in a dress (of course it's NOT a dress, but you know what I mean! ha!) walking up and down the street yelling something...then moving it a bit...and men would come out to look at it - see the guy dressed nicely to check it out?
WHAT ARE IN THOSE DRUMS? crude oil? ha! Just...another - well I want to say crazy siting, but really that sounds so negative - so many things really still baffle me! Like the TODDLER (half the size of tiny Jasmine) hanging from his dad's back on the back of bike in bumper to bumper traffic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no I didn't miss any words in that sentence! I think my grandpa R might've said "well, it'll put hair on his chest" yes, and the hair off his dad's back, kill 2 birds w/ one stone - or just one baby w/ one bump! yikes!

or...the donkey carts without drivers. I am noticing sometimes the donkey carts aren't driven...they know their routes so well..they RUN THRU TRAFFIC W/ THEIR CARTS! yep...they do their thing....w/o manpower. ????

**BIG THANK YOU TO GAGE AND MELANIE!!!!!!!!!!!** the sunscreen got here 3 days after we ran out - WHEW! JUST IN TIME TO NOT GO STIR CRAZY WAITING FOR SUNSCREEN! LOVE MELALUCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Joshua was doin a big jig for the joke on the sketch as well as he has the snow flakes in his room - he's going to hang them in winter. He's working on a written letter back to **everyone** He wanted to write it, so it takes some time.

Thanks for reading the blog! Glad you can enjoy it!! Oh and thanks to Excel for the gallon man idea - he's working out FABULOUS! I think I laminated it for 3rd grade last year. Anywho - wish I was there helping prep your classrooms w/ lamination!! I miss you all! I bet the parking lot isn't the same w/o my big truck driven by a spastic sassy momma! LOL

Love,
Wendy