Fresco painting, Equine school field trip and Breakfast for Dinner

We went to the final day that Cedar Point was open.  It was COLD...but we had fun and they got to ride all their favorite coasters for the last time of the season.

On Monday, Lydia had her last equine careers class.  We took a tour of the Western Equine Department at a local university.

It was very informative and gave Lydia a lot to think about.

In Science/Art Club we finished up talking about animal migration and learned about Gioto.  For their project they made egg paints and painted on wet plaster pieces.

In Poetry, the girls worked on Limericks and Haikus.

I can't say enough times how much I love our history this year.  We are using Notgrass History - From Adam to Us.  We are using Volume 1 this year.  We sit down and do our reading, but use our Bible story book right along with our history book.  It just shows the kids how historical events line up with the Bible.  It's not a made up book.... it's real!  This week they talked about the fall of Jerusalem and more about the Israelites disobedience.

Caty and Lydia's glasses finally came in.  Joe was able to go and pick them up with them.  Lydia was very excited...Caty not so much.  But she loves her selection.  The picture doesn't really show the purple color they are.  She didn't realize that she needed to wear them as much as she needs to, and its going to take her a couple weeks to get used to.

In Home Ec this week, they read about the importance of breakfast and looked up some recipes.  I didn't have them make breakfast, they made breakfast for dinner.  So they worked together to make oven pancake and I taught Joey how to fry bacon.

Brayden working on division with fractional remainders.

A better shot of Caty in her glasses.  She is loving the Descendents book series.

I may have a slight addiction to trying new Stevia flavors.  I went shopping on Amazon and found a grape and a root beer flavor.  I also got one recommended by a friend, peppermint.  I love these caramel drops when I make ice cream.  I also ordered more cola flavored.  I love those in plain carb water.

In the kids math, Joey was struggling, so I had to take him back a grade level to review some concepts again.  Brayden and Lydia worked on special factor worksheets, to review their numbers for the math they are learning right now.  Lydia absolutely loved the coloring worksheets I found.  Caty started early multiplication concepts.  She freaked out a bit, but suddenly shocked herself with how much she actually knew.

Lydia's Python class has been pushed back a little bit because she has been loving the Innovators Tribe - Think Like an Engineer class she is taking online.  Caty is doing great with Scratch and surprising herself with how much she knows and what she can make that Sprite do.

Lydia has been working on an engineering program from Innovator's Tribe.  This week she built a water purification, and also worked on engineering car wheels.

Another one of her projects is starting using CAD drawing software.

All the kids had their typical sports programs, work schedules, etc.  So it was a busy week.  I didn't feel well and Joe helped me out a lot driving the kids to the various places they needed to be.  I was very grateful for all his help.

Lydia's riding coach texted me this shot of Lydia working hard at the stable.  We don't see this very often...lol

I hope everyone had a wonderful week!!  See you next week as we continue on our adventures.

Linking up with other moms at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Innovators Tribe - Thinking Like An Engineer Review

Lydia has been super excited about our most recent review product.  She is getting to review the Thinking Like An Engineer program from Innovators Tribe.  Boy has she been having fun with this program!!

Thinking Like An Engineer is an online course written for students in grades 6 - 12.  It has been created to open up the minds of your student(s) to the expansive world of engineering as a possible career choice.  It encourages students to learn to design and build using not only materials around the home, but also using 3D Software.

Students learn:

• What engineers do
• What types of professions rely on engineering skills (this opened up Lydia's eyes as she saw the potential dollar signs in salaries...lol)
• Introduces them to the math and science involved in engineering
• Problems that engineers need to solve when designing and building
• Introduction of 300 years of engineering feats, including the amazing buildings we see around the world
• How to think like an engineer

Lydia has been able to use Thinking Like An Engineer completely independently.  She logs in and works on her assigned projects.  The program starts out with hands-on work.  Each lesson contains a video lesson that ranges from just a few minutes in length to roughly 30 minutes.  After watching the lesson, certain groups of lessons contain a challenge. 

I really like that the first few challenges were all-hands on.

Lydia building a tower using only 4 sheets of paper and masking tape.  She had to get it as tall as she could and it had to be self-standing.

She hit just under 40 inches.

Her second challenge was to build a stand that could be no higher than 12 inches.  It had to contain 4 pedestals and hold a stack of books without collapsing.

(I just wish that she would have put the books away when she was done..😂)  She had a blast building that tower!

Another hands-on project was to build a water purification system.  I literally helped her print the instructions, and walked away.

She did it all on her own!

The first two units are the Hands-on Lessons.  Then the kids are introduced to CAD drawing.  The software for this is included in the Thinking Like An Engineer program. 

The software was super easy to download.  In fact, Lydia was actually able to download it with minimal help from us (simply had to type in the password we keep on her laptop to control what she downloads).  (Click here to double check the computer requirements for your personal machines.)

A couple of the lessons she has worked on so far also have included downloadable worksheets to help reinforce the material that she was watching.  And for once....zero complaint about working on a worksheet!!  The worksheets were very easily to download, and Lydia was able to do that completely on her own also.

Lydia loves the various challenges that she has been working on with the CAD software and can't wait to get started on the roller coaster science section and also designing of bridges.  I am going to estimate that she spends a minimum of 4-5 hours a week currently on Thinking Like An Engineer.  This is by her choice, and I haven't discouraged her extra time she wants to spend on lessons and designing.  You really can go at your own speed with this program.  Your purchase from Innovators Tribe gives you 18 months access to the course that you purchase. 

Thinking Like An Engineer contains approximately 30 hours worth of video instruction, and that does not count the hours of hands-on and computer building experience.  It covers such a wide range of topics in your classroom.  Designing and building helps to improve math, science and critical thinking skills.  I love that Thinking Like An Engineer actually is reinforcing her pre-algebra math skills and introducing her to even more complicated math concepts in a fun way.

Thinking Like An Engineer can be purchased for $149.  But through this week is on sale for $96.00!!  I know it seems a little pricey, but if you have a high school student any of the programs offered by Innovators Tribe would make a great addition to your kids high school transcript.  Also you cannot underestimate the fact that software for the programs are included, and supplies are included for the hands-on projects in Thinking Like a Carpenter.  

Innovators Tribe also offers other wonderful classes:

Lydia has fallen in love with her Thinking Like An Engineer program.  In fact, I have a hard time keeping her from working ahead on her assignments and skipping out on her other responsibilities.  I definitely see a double major in her future!!  She says that she needs to use engineering skills to help out with her love of horses!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review products from Innovators Tribe, including Thinking Like an Engineer and Thinking Like an Architect.  Click on the link below to see how they used these products in their home, and their recommendation for them.

The Pencil Grip, Inc. - Thin Stix Creativity Pack Review

The girls fought over this review package when I opened it.  We got a chance to review the Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. 

We have been in love with Kwik Stix since their introduction a couple years ago.  First we used the thicker Kwik Stix. Then Pencil Grip, Inc. introduced Thin Stix and the girls loved it.  Kwik Stix - Thin Stix are a tempra paint stick, that is almost like a marker that allows for mess-free creativity. Thin Stix take only roughly 90 seconds to dry (and less time in most cases). 

The girls love to paint and I HATE the mess they leave behind.  Rinse cup rings, messy paint brushes...yuck!  Kwik Stix - Thin Stix took this problem away, especially when we were traveling and practically living in hotel rooms.  They have become an absolute favorite in our house. 

Thin Stix have been a hit here, but were only available in a limited amount of colors.  So Caty was thrilled when we opened our review package!! Caty's eye bulged so wide.....she was so excited to see all the new colors!  There are now metallic colors and neon colors in the 24 piece - Thin Stix Creativity Pack ($19.99).

The reason that we absolutely love Thin Stix so much is their ease of use.  The girls love that they "paint" so smoothly and do not bleed through their drawing pages.  The next day, Lydia started using them in her Drawing/Handwriting notebook.  She is using a copywork program that helps encourage drawing skills.  Markers bleed through her notebook pages, so she has been using crayons.  But still upset that crayons streak when coloring.  She was so happy with the way Thin Stix worked in her book.  She is able to color her daily writing prompts without smears or streaks.  Plus they dry quickly and do not bleed through the pages.  Since they dry so quickly, she can start using a new color almost immediately without worry of colors running together.

The Thin Stix Creativity Pack draw very smoothly.  That is a great feature when coloring.  When using markers or crayons, you have streaks or uneven color.  When coloring and drawing with Thin Stix, you do not have this problem.  The colors are smooth and stay the same throughout the drawing.  

Thin Stix can be used anywhere.  You can use them in coloring books, notebooks, canvas paper and even on poster board projects.

The Thin Stix Creativity Pack size is great for adding details into projects.  With all the new colors (which Caty so wanted the colors to expand), so many possibilities.  We love Thin Stix so much, we use them for our everyday coloring books also.

Another thing we love about Thin Stix, even though they are tempera paint, they do not smell.  Our kids have all hated tempera paint and the smell.  Thin Stix do not smell at all.  The finished product also does not crack the way that dried tempera paint does.  

We plan to keep Thin Stix on hand all the time, for both our use and any guests also.  The project possibilities are endless.  What a great addition to our art supplies!  And they make a great gift for that creative child that love to draw and paint! 

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc.  Visit the link below to see how they used this product in their homes and what they thought of the Thin Stix Creativity Pack.