Grade Three Farming Block

Erin is busy with her farming block as I have already mentioned. We were pruning quite a few branches off of our large trees this week. Jenna and Erin quickly gathered all the branches up and started to cut them into logs for firewood with a bow saw. It was a lovely self led practical activity!

Ancient India

Jenna has studied Ancient India this year, so we thought it would be a lovely activity to decorate our hands with henna cone pens. We came up with some lovely designs. When it is dry it leaves a very light colour of the pattern. It should wash off in about two weeks, (we hope).

Lemon Cheese

Today as part of Erin's Farming Block she made Lemon Cheese! It was so quick, I was amazed. This is the big ball of cheese that she made from 1 litre of milk and the juice from 3 lemons and a pinch of salt. In the photo the cheese has been hanging in the cheese cloth for half an hour. It has already become quite hard! The longer you let it hang in the cheese cloth, the drier and harder it becomes.

We were able to eat it on crackers after half an hour, it was fantastic!!

Homemade spindles

We have been doing so much weaving and sewing etc... because Erin is busy with her Farming block. Jenna decided that she wanted to make a drop spindle. She made this one herself from a download on the internet about how to make a drop spindle from a dowel and an old cd. She did this all herself and then started spinning! Wow, I was amazed.

These are the two balls of wool that Jenna has hand spun on her spindle. I have started knitting a sheep from the one. This is absolutely amazing, to see my children busy with this ancient art, it's wonderful!

Here is a web site that explains how to make a spindle from a cd and a dowel:

http://www.interweave.com/spin/files/CDspindles.pdf

Grade 5 Mesopotamia

Jenna has just finished learning about Mesopotamia. She built a replica of a Ziggurat out of clay. This is her impression. These Ziggurat's were almost as large as pyramids, but one could not go inside them, you would climb up the steps on the outside and enter the chamber at the top, which would be filled with guilded furniture and treasures for the gods.

This is Jenna's painting of Gilgamesh setting out upon the Sun Road. We read the story of Gilgamesh the King, this is one of the oldest stories from the time of Mesopotamia.

This is one of the clay tablets that Jenna made today. She made a stylus from a piece of beading and sanded it into shape. She is practicing the Sumerian alphabet here on this clay tablet. The different directions of the triangles all have a unique meaning.

Mesopotamia really has been an enjoyable block!