I'm hoping the expression "the third times the charm" will hold true for our study of botany this fall. This will be the 3rd time that I've begun the Exploring Creation with Botany book with the girls. Our two main problems were comprehension and lack of hands on activities. The first two tries I would read the section to the girls and then ask them a question only to be met by blank stares. Honestly, I couldn't blame them. Angiosperms and Coniferaphyta aren't exactly part of my every day vocabulary either. This time I'm having the girls read the section by themselves and complete a booklet with either questions or a space to summarize what they have learned. I'm hoping that will give me a better idea of how much they are understanding so that I can better help them through the material. For Benny, I'm trying to find one book a week on his level that relates to what the girls are studying so he'll feel included. As far as hands on, my goal is to do one hands on type project a week. Some weeks that will be a lab from the book. Other weeks were just going to be planting something. (Just don't ask me where we'll keep it all. I haven't thought that far ahead.) A few weeks we might just fill in with some type of craft to keep my house from overflowing with plants.
This week to kick off our study on botany, I had the girls open and plant their fairy triads from Rainbow Resource that have been sitting in boxes in their room since Christmas. For Benny, we're trying a homemade version of those kits that allow you to see the roots of plants. Basically, we filled to 2 quart size jars with potting soil and planted carrot seeds around the outside edge. I hoping that once they sprout and start growing we'll be able to see the carrot growing down into the dirt. The hardest part will likely be keeping Henry out of the dirt. Here are a few pictures of the kids putting together their first project.
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