Category: 2018/19 Friday Factoids

Extra Fun Fact Friday

Teachers Two-Cents:  Greetings from The Land of the Midnight Sun!  We finally had an opportunity to use up all those air miles we earned flying back and forth to California while living in Hawaii for 4 years. So here we are visiting some of our Kona friends who are now residing in Alaska. Not only is the hospitality Alaska sized but 5 days into our two-week trip, we can say our expectations of America’s last frontier have been wildly surpassed.  We are also blessed to have my father-in-law along with us after suffering the recent loss of his precious wife, my husband’s own dear mother, the boys’ loving “Oma” and this blog’s most enthusiastic fan.  We’re all wishing she were on this adventure with us, but know she is experiencing vastly more wondrous things in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, even though our hearts are heavenward, this week’s factoids will be a little more down-to-earth.  And since it’s impossible to describe Alaska in factoid-sized-bites here’s a generous helping of photos from our adventures so far.

The first day in Alaska we hiked up Flat Top Mountain and picked blue berries. On the way down we saw 3 big bull moose in meadow. Then further on we saw a female moose which is called a cow. The next day we went to Kenai Fjords National Park and hiked to Exit glacier. On the drive back we saw a pod of Beluga Whales really close to shore and we saw lots of wild swans (Sam, 9).

Our family went on a glacier cruise and we saw tons of wildlife including bears, mountain goats, seals, endangered sea lions, otters, porpoises, and eagles.  Our boat went right up to the glaciers so we could hear them creaking and see them calve.  Calving is when chunks of ice break off the glacier and splash into the water (Nate, 11).

Friday Factoid Week 4

This week I studied what is known about Black Holes which are invisible so we can only learn about them by learning about what is going on around them. A lot of people think that stuff gets sucked into Black Holes but that is not true. Black Holes are invisible because light can not get out. This is because space and time are traveling toward the center at the same speed as light.

Stellar Black Holes form when huge stars collapse in on themselves. Super-massive Black Holes, like the one in the middle of our galaxy were formed at creation. Here are some videos you might enjoy.  This one is Christian and this one isn’t (Joel, age 13).

 

 

And here’s a flashback to what was going on in our Hawaiian homeschool 6 years ago this week.

Friday Factoid Week 3

Factoid #1:  All the darkness in space is not just emptiness. There is all this stuff called dark energy and dark matter. It is all vary confusing and mysterious as you will see in this amazing video (by Joel, 13).

Factoid #2:  We had our Back -2- School  Benediction  and watched the Imax Hubble movie outside with our friends. It shows  Orion Nebula and the star nursery with all the baby stars. The wind is blowing so fast it stunts the stars growth (by Nate, 11).

Factoid #3: On benediction night  we looked through our rad new telescope and  was able to spot the Sea of Tranquility where the rad astronauts landed (by Sam, 9).

And here’s a flashback  to what was going on in our Hawaii homeschool 6 years ago this week.  And here’s another just for fun!

Teacher’s Two-Cents: Back-2-School time just isn’t complete without a benediction on our year.  This year we gathered with other homeschooling families on the ball-field and circled up to pray over our students and teachers. Our scripture prayer was Deuteronomy 32:1-3,

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.  For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God.”

We prayed that as teachers, our words would be gentle, nourishing, life giving words.  We prayed for our students, our children, that as our teaching fell on them as upon tender grass, that their own hearts would be moldable, pliable and tender to the things of the Lord.  And we prayed for our homes that they would be places of proclamation of the name of the Lord and that in all things we would ascribe greatness to our God.

Now, an even better part of Back-2-School time is Hartland’s Homeschool Family Camp which is happening RIGHT NOW!  No better way to kick things off than for your whole family to gather in the beautiful Sequoia forest of California’s Sierra Nevadas with tons of other home-schooling families to sit under the Word, worship with the Shaw Family Band, learn from amazing science teachers and participate in the myriad of outdoor activities this camp offers.  And moms, the best part for you is that once you’re here, there’s no cooking, no cleaning, no driving and no wifi.  Don’t worry if you missed out on this one, there’s another Hartland Homeschool Family Camp in May.  See you all there!