Are you smarter than a 1st grader?

I am not, I confess.
I wrote on my blog last year about what I was learning teaching the kids Kindergarten.
1st grade has been even more enlightening.
Now, before you write me off as a total moron, let me throw out a few of the kids' test questions from this year.
(You can decide I'm a moron after that.)

What is a shaduf? (hint: used in early civilization farming)
Locate and color the mesopatamia on a map.
Label all the continents, oceans, and define island and peninsula.
What are the three kinds of rocks?
Identify rocks into these three categories. (We actually did this with buckets of rocks and a Geology Professor in the A&M Geology building. I love this town!!)
What is a sun spot? solar flare?
What is the largest planet?
The hottest planet?
Which ones have rings? (hint: not just Saturn)
Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?
Who was Pocahontas, and what did she do? (hint: Don't go to Disney for accurate historical info.)
Who was Paul Revere's vitally helpful friend on the night of his famous ride?
What did he do?
How many bones are in the body?
Label atleast 10 correctly.
Explain the process of digestion.
How much saliva do we produce each day? (This grossed me out.)
Name 5 different types of animal habitats.
Map out a food chain for each kind of habitat.
What is an animal called that eats both animals and plants?

Did any of them stump you? Maybe 1 or 2?
More than a couple for me. Science was NOT of interest to me as a kid. Obviously it was to my husband, and my kids are very much like him.
But it has been my pure joy to learn everything again, or for the first time even, and teach it to my kids.
Weirdo Homeschool Legalist Disclaimer: Let me remind you, I don't think homeschooling is for everyone, or the only way, or GOD'S WAY, or whatever.
But it is a blast for us! We are having fun studying food chains this week.
I don't think I learned all this stuff!!! This is awesome!
I wish I could show you the picture Rusty drew on the board for me of a food chain. It's awesome. Having a brainy husband with good artistic skills is super helpful!
Emma and Jax are so excited to learn something new, so teaching them is a bright spot in my day every day.
Emma is what Rusty affectionately calls a "nerd", which he is as well, so he's very proud. But ask Emma any question about one of these topics, and you'll get her going. Especially if it pertains to animals. She'll talk your ear off. And you might learn something! I usually do, because the girl stores away additional animal info. from her Zoobooks magazines, library books, and anything Bindi says!
I included a few pics of our schooling lately.
Emma was working on "Solving for the Unknown" or what we called "Solving the mystery" in math. It's really like early algebra. X + 7=16
So when we started this section of her math, she immediately went and dressed up like a Sherlock Holmes type of detective. Notice the pipe in her mouth. She cracks me up!
She also made a robot one day.
And finally, my favorite, was our MLK day activity of eating the Great Divide ice cream. (1/2 vanilla and 1/2 chocolate.) This was their idea when we studied Civil Rights and desegregation before MLK day. We mixed them up some for symbolism sake. How funny are they?
I'm really not saying my kids are especially smart or are learning any more than everyone else's kids. Not at all. But they love learning, and I super love teaching them!!! I am learning so much from them, and learning to love knowledge, especially of God's creation, all from 1st grade.
Hopefully, I am getting smarter than a 1st grader.