big week in homeschooling

We had a big week in homeschooling so I thought I'd give a report on all that went on in our school. On Monday afternoon I had an appointment in San Luis for my last ultrasound so the kids and I packed up the car and made a quick stop at Mission San Miguel before we left town. Jason has been begging to have a look around so I finally made time for a visit. The mission is basically in ruins because of the San Simeon earthquake of 2003. Construction has begun on restoring the chapel so there is very little to see. Jason liked the displays of the kitchen, dining room, bedroom and living room that the friars would have used in the 1700's. He also saw the way they made paint to decorate the mission (exactly how he made paint last week when studying ancient Egypt). He marveled at the way adobe keeps the buildings so cool and the efficiency of tile roofing that lasts for so long and keeps water out by using the over/ under pattern. We studied a book called Houses and Homes earlier in the school year and he learned how people all over the world make homes from variations of mud, dirt, sand and water. On our way to San Luis he drew a picture in the car of an adobe building with a tile roof, and if I may brag it looked great!
The ultrasound revealed that the baby is still a girl, so even though I don't feel like I'm carrying a girl, I have to muster up girl-like feelings. So here's a 4-D picture of Hayden (still don't have a middle name) Rusco. Use your skills from those Magic Eye books that are collecting dust on your shelves.
Since we were in San Luis anyway, Darren took us over to the mission. Now here is a mission that gets some attention. Because they hold services and have a private school this mission is beautifully maintained. On our way home Jason and I talked about all the bells lined up along the freeway and the name El Camino Real (the king's road or the royal highway). Next time you're driving on the 101 with Jason he'll point out every bell to you (sorry...). By the way history buffs, how far apart is each bell and how much did it cost to put them up?
We visited the library here in San Miguel on Thursday. Even though it is tiny, it's nice to have a different variety of books to check out. Our school program schedules light book work on Fridays because it also schedules science experiments on Fridays. So today we studied hydro-power and made our own water wheel. We also wrapped up Abraham in his burial linens because he was starting to attract fruit flies. As soon as all the glue dries we can decorate his sarcophogus and bury him.