Weekly Happenings: Flowers at the Finish Line!

Pay no attention to the part about "finish line" in this post's title. Education never "finishes" at our house. We might change direction, change focus, change methods, mix it up a bit, you name it. But we never finish.

I'm still learning even now.

We are, however, setting aside some subjects for a break, such as regular copywork, grammar, and foreign language. Tiny Girl finished her level in Spelling Power, and Miss Priss completed her latest Word Roots workbook. Tiny Girl also reached a natural stopping point in her Building Thinking Skills workbook.

Readings will continue until we finish those scheduled for AO's year 5. I don't like to rush readings. Also, we'll do some math every day to defend against mathematical brain drain.

In our readings this week:

• Abraham Lincoln's World: the world gets "smaller," i.e., not as remote
• This Country of Ours: President Johnson is impeached (but prevails); Grant is elected president for two terms
• Oliver Twist: our hero recuperates at the home of Mr. Brownlow
• A Passion for the Impossible: Lilias departs for north Africa
• Story Book of Science: flowers

I wanted to expand on our Story Book of Science lesson, so yesterday we took our readings outside (it was a gorgeous day). Armed with the Handbook of Nature Study, some flowers, and this helpful guide from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, we began our study.

We began by looking at roses. Himself and I had pruned our Knock Out rosebushes over the weekend and kept several unopened buds in a cup of water. Perfect! Above is an excellent example of a rosebud's unopened corolla (collective name for flower petals).

Here is a rose sepal (rhymes with steeple), one of the green outer leaves that protects the developing rosebud. Taken together, the group of five sepals of each bud is called a calyx.

We also considered verbena flowers. Each verbena cluster comprises several tiny flowers.

Lantana and verbena are in the same family, hence the resemblance.

The girls seemed to enjoy our study, which gladdened this mama's heart. Next week, we'll study flower reproduction.

Here's our week in pictures:

From left to right, starting at top: 1. A hydrangea bloom; 2. A tomato that's sprouted! 3. Reading about Lilias Trotter; 4. Taking a rest in the shade; 5. A velvet milkshake; 6. Reading aloud outside; 7. Jasper investigating our flowers; 8. Thirsty Georgette; 9. Breakfast: mini cinnamon rolls from Trader Joe's and a cup of coffee in my new handmade mug

I'm linking up! Click below for more fun, encouragement, and ideas. Who doesn't need those things, I ask you?

Collage Friday at Homegrown Learners
The Homeschool Mother's Journal at iHomeschool Network
No Ordinary Blog Hop
Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
Camera Phone Friday at My Home Sweet Home

Have a great weekend!