Week 3 - Jack and the Beanstalk

I think we are finally starting to fall into a good routine!  Yay!

This week we studied the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  Fairy tales are great for working on reading comprehension!  We read a different version of the story every day and talked about how the books were similar and how they were different.  We also rented the movie "Jack and the Beanstalk" staring Christopher Lloyd and Chevy Chase from the library.  (It was about as far from the original story of Jack and the Beanstalk as possible!!)

This week we also filled up our sensory tub with, what else - BEANS!  We used black beans, garbanzo beans, and pinto beans in the tub.  Big K still enjoys the sensory tub even though it is more geared towards Little E's learning goals.  The kids had fun using funnels, spoons, buckets, and other things to explore the textures of the different beans. 

We also planted some beans this week.  We got a paper towel damp and put it in a sandwich bag with a few beans so we can watch them grow.  We have four types of beans - pinto, black, garbanzo, and the kids' personal favorite - JELLY BEANS!  Big K is recording their progress in a science journal.  We have been amazed at the growth from the beans we bought in the grocery section! 

We also used the story as inspiration for some art!  We took butcher paper, and painted tall beanstalks with green paint!  Big K even added Jack to his picture. 

Of course, there was lots of "boring" work going on too.  Big K's spelling words worked with the "it" chunk this week and Little E is hard at work learning how to write her name!  She is doing a great job and I'm fairly certain she has better fine motor control that Big K does! 


This week we also visited the Sharon Woods Harbor park.  Big K thought it was the best park we've visited so far - he even rated it a 9 out of 10!  He will be typing up his review and posting it on our blog this week! 

Next week will be a busy one!  Big K starts football practice and cub scouts is now if full swing!  We are also getting involved in some local homeschooling groups, and have LOTS of field trips on the books for the next month. 

Happy Learning,
Momma C