Weeks 26-28: Busy, Busy, Busy!

The past few weeks have been crazy busy in our house!  We've had a mixture of bad weather (which made for some great sledding and snow exploration!), and a bad case of cabin fever.  We have wanted to be out and about and on the go, so that is exactly what we've been doing!  Even the snow couldn't keep us home.  One day Dad even got to stay home from work and we took the kids sledding.  And bonus, we ran into some good friends from church.  Big K went up and down the hill for a solid two hours.  He was frozen solid by the time he was done!  Big K also got to go snowboarding for the first time.  He did an awesome job and is excited to go again!

We also brought some snow inside to play with.  Baby W really enjoyed being able to experience the snow without having to be outside in the cold!

I've mentioned before how Big K has been really into listening to The Magic Tree House series books on tape.  He finished a book called Mummies in the Morning and our local museum just happened to have an exhibit on mummies!  We thought it was the perfect chance for some extension learning.  Big K thought it was creepy (and it kinda was!) but the exhibit was also really cool and we learned a lot about the science behind mummy making!

We also had a field trip with our homeschool group to a local grocery store.  It's not your normal grocery store though.  It is a crazy big international market and the kids had a chance to not only tour the store and learn about the store's history, but we also had the chance to sample foods from all over the world.  I was so proud of Big K - he tried every single food that they offered.  He tried rambutan (a fruit popular in southeast Asia), jicima (a Mexican potato that's not really a potato at all), sushi, salsa, several different types of cheese, and even BUGS.  That's right - Big K and Little E both tried cheese flavored worms and LIKED THEM.  They both even asked for seconds!

We also visited our local tourism board and collected supplies to finish up our Ohio project envelopes and then mailed them out.  Big K has been stalking the mailman every day waiting for our packages from other states.  So far we have received packages from Louisiana, Wyoming, and Oregon.  Our favorite part of each package have been the maps but we've also gotten lots of other goodies like recipe cards, stickers, post cards, and lots of other stuff!  It's been a lot of fun exploring the information from other parts of the country.  We are looking forward to receiving the rest of our packages!

After all the snow and cold weather, we have been itching to go somewhere warmer so we ended up going for a nice long weekend to Atlanta, Georgia!  We had a blast.  We visited the Lego Discovery Center where Big K made lego cars to race down ramps.  We also went to the CocaCola museum and tasted popular sodas from all over the globe.  Big K's favorite was an apple flavored soda from China.  Little E preferred a fruity drink from somewhere in Africa.  We even got a chance to see the CocaCola secret vault and take a picture with the cocacola polar bear!  And how can you go to Atlanta without visiting the amazing Georgia Aquarium.  Talk about an awesome place to visit!  We especially loved the dolphin show and the penguin exhibit!

In other big news, Big K got his Tiger badge in cub scouts this past month at the Blue and Gold Banquet.  He completed all the requirements for the badge with two other boys in his den.  He has been working hard to finish it all up and has learned a lot of things in scouts each week.  Now he is on to working on his car for the pinewood derby!

Now that the weather is FINALLY getting warmer, we are looking forward to more outdoor experiences and time at the park!  We are also planning on a big summer backyard garden this year, so Big K and Little E have been busy deciding which plants they want to grow!

Happy Learning!
Momma C

Week 25 - O-H-I-O

A few months ago we were invited to a group on Facebook that had a special plan to help kids learn about the United States.  Kids from all over the country paired up and planned on creating a box of information about their states and then swapping.  This week Big K has been working hard to prepare his box about Ohio!  We have been putting together a PowerPoint presentation about things he thinks are important about our state (he chose to include things such as the state symbols, sports teams, famous people born in Ohio, and fun places to visit).  We also visited the a local visitors center and picked up a ton of magazines, brochures, and maps to include in our packages.  We hope to finish them up and get them out in the mail early this coming week!

This week we've also been working more on learning perimeter and area.  One day we used toothpicks to work out some math problems.  And while Big K was busy figuring out what dimensions of toothpick "fences" gave the biggest area, Little E used some toothpicks to practice making some shapes of her own!

We also have been learning about compound words this week.  We spent one day playing a game matching up words to make compound words and even completed a rare worksheet sorting words.  Next up, contractions! 

After discovering the playaway books on tape from the library last week, it has been all the rage in our house.  Big K listened to THREE books from The Magic Tree House series this week!  However, he decided next week we need to check out the actual book as well as the playaway from the library so he can sit and follow along.  I told him I thought that was a great idea!

This week Baby W has been sick (yet again), so we have been stuck in the house more than usual.  While Big K was busy listening to his books, Little E spent a lot of time with her favorite activity - playdough!  She gets playdough out at least three times a day.  I think we need to invest in some new playdough accessories - they get a lot of use in our house.  We've also been playing a lot of card games.  It has been great practice for Little E learning to recognize numbers as well as identify which number is "more" and which is "less".  I love being able to work in school stuff even during game time!

 

Happy Learning, 

Momma C

Week 24 - On the Go

Wow!  What a busy week.  We had something on our calendar for every single day.  So lots of learning on the go this week!

We started our week with a trip to the local nature center for a storytime.  Once a month they host a storytime that is themed around a different animal or science topic.  This month was spiders.  We read several books about spiders, looked at photographs of spiders native to our area, and played a game using a big parachute that looked like a spider web!  And of course the kids had the chance to explore the nature center.  Their favorite part is the little fish tank tunnel.  We love to sit inside and watch the fish and turtles swim overhead.

 

This week was also our month 4H meeting with our homeschool group.  Big K is in Cloverbuds this year and is thrilled to be doing a project about cooking to display at our local county fair this coming summer.  He picked up his project book this week and is anxious to get started.  In his Cloverbud meeting they also worked more on learning and understanding the 4H Oath.  They did a project about love and created a collage of things they love cut out of magazines.  They also created their own puppets and put on a puppet show for their friends.  Once the meeting concluded the kids had the chance to just get outside and play on the farm.  (Our meetings are held at a members home farm and it is amazing!).  The kids played on the swing set and ran and played tag.  They also got the chance to see and hold the chickens as well as pet the horses and alpacas.  

 

 Another day this week the kids were rewarded with a trip to the aquarium.  They have been working so hard and our local aquarium is running an awesome deal on tickets so we needed to take advantage of it.  We had a great time, and even made it there to see the little sharks being fed!  We also got to touch a sea cucumber, sea annenome, sea stars, and even sharks!  Little E loves to take pictures (just like her mom!) so she took control of my phone to document the trip for us. Of course, I took a few myself as well with my "real" camera. 

We ended the week with a trip to Home Depot for their montly kids clinic.  This month the kids made Valentine's Day boxes.  They had to use hammers and wood glue to put them together and then got to paint them.  And then they got a pin to add to their aprons and a certificate!  Fun!

 

In other exciting news, this week we heard back from our town mayor.  Back in the fall we had written to him and Big K mentioned he thought we needed more ice cream shops in town.  In his response, our mayor agreed and then sent Big K a coupon for a local ice cream shop as well as some town goodies.  He also invited us to visit his office!  We plan on calling and setting up a visit sometime soon! 

In "normal" school news, Big K has still been busy learning about measuring.  This week we started learning about perimeter and area.  This will be our segway into starting to learn about multiplication!   Math comes so easily to Big K!  

 We also spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen this week.  Big K has been trying out lots of new recipes.  He made elf cookies all by himself with only a little help using the oven.  He also made some very delicious tomato basil soup for lunch one day!  

And of course, what week would be complete without a trip to the local library.  We recently discovered that our library rents out these wonderful things called "playaway".  It is basically a portable book on tape.  It looks like a little mp3 player, and Big K loves them.  He listened to the entire Magic Tree House series book #1 in a day this week.  We have books 2-4 on hold now.  He sat for an enitre hour listening to the book while playing with Legos!   And of course Little E and Baby W picked out their share of books too!

Happy Learning,
Momma C

Week 23 - Volume and Art Appreciation

This week we continued our project learning about measuring.  We changed our focus from length and weight to volume this week and learned all about cups, pints, quarts, and gallons.  One day we took an empty two liter bottle and poured 1 cup of water into it, marking where it filled the container.  Then we did the same with one pint, one quart, and 1/2 a gallon (we realized a full gallon wouldn't fit, so we decided to stick with just 1/2 gallon!).  It was a great visual demonstration comparing the different types of volume measurement!  The resulting bottle, along with a funnel, and a variety of measuring spoons became instant additions to our tub of bath toys and provided a full week of water play in the tub!

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After we learned about how the different measurments compared, we thought it would be interesting to see how many cups were in a gallon, or how many tablespoons were in a quart.  Big K and I created a chart on the computer and the practiced using our calculator skills to fill it all in.  We used a book we've been studying called How Much Does it Hold to help us with our calculations, and then tested to see how accurate our chart was.   Here's what we came up with: 

 On Wednesday, we met a friend at the local art museum for a special storytime adventure.  The kids had to go visit several different stations throughout the museum.  At each station a docket talked about a specific color that was represented in a work of art.  Some of the stations included a story to listen to, others included some hands-on experiences, and some even integrated Ipads and other things to help make the art come alive.  The kids then collected a paper circle from each station to create their own color wheel at the end!  Their favorite station was based on the color green.  We looked a painting that was inspired by our own city and the kids got to use a laser pointer to find different shades of green in the painting.  They had a great time and have been asking to add this storytime onto our monthly calendar! 

Big K was so inspired by the art, that he decided he wanted to have his own art gallery show at home.  So we put together several art samples and invited our friends over for a playdate art show!  The kids shared artwork and even made some handprint salt dough ornaments to hang on the wall. 

Big K is also involved in a very cool project in collaboration with kids from all over the country.  We are in charge of packing up seven boxes that tell all about Ohio that we will mail to kids in other states.  In return, he will receive a box from seven other kids about THEIR state.  We've been busy brainstorming things that we want to include in our information about Ohio!  It has been a big undertaking, but I think it will be worth it in the end! 

Happy Learning,
Momma C

Weeks 19-22: Performances, Holidays, and Other Shenanigans

It is now mid-January and we are FINALLY getting back into a good school routine.  Our holiday season was super busy and filled with family, performances, and special outings.   We kicked off our holiday break from homeschooling with Big K's peformace of Around the World in 80 Days.  The kids did an amazing job getting it all put together and had a great run of the show.  Big K had a great experience and is looking forward to his next opportunity to be on stage!

Our holiday break was filled with family!  We had people come to visit us from all over the country including all of Big K and Little E's aunts and uncles and both their grandmothers.  And it was actually the first time their mamaw got to meet Baby W which made it an extra special Christmas.  We also took a trip to downtown Cincinnati and went to the very top of Carew Tower to see the sights.  Big K really liked being able to use the binoculars to see as far as possible.  We also got a special treat and got to see the Cincinnati Bengals on their practice field!  It is definitely a different perspective being so high up!  Afterwards Big K went ice skating for the very first time.  He did a great job, and has since decided when he grows up he wants to be in the Winter Olympics for speed skating. 

After the first of the year, we got back to business.  Big K was asking to learn about measurement so we have been hard at work learning all about measuring length, distance, and weight.  We did several different activities to help us learn the concept.  We started with nonstandard measurement and comparing the lengths of different objects.  Then we moved on to using a ruler and a measuring tape to find the length of objects with both centimeters and inches.  We even spent a day learning how to find the distance between two points on a map!   Afterwards we moved on to learning about weight.  We used a balance scale to compare the weights of objects and order them from heaviest to lightest. 
 

Another math concept that Big K has been working on is double digit addition and subtraction.  We are almost done with our third math textbook in our Life of Fred series and we haven't quite reached that in the books yet, but Big K is ready so we have been supplementing it with our own things.  He has been doing a great job mastering the concepts - even with borrowing and regrouping!

 We also had the opportunity to go to a special playdate at a local gym designed for kids.  Big K and Little E had the chance to explore some of the equipment as well as play some games with other kids.  They both really enjoyed it! Even Baby W got in on the action!

Big K has also been staying active playing basketball with Upward Bound.  His first few games have been a success.  They don't keep score at his age and the focus is all on teamwork and sportsmanship as well as learning the skills of the game. 

One of the most exciting things that has happened in our home the last week though was welcoming three new animal friends to our house!  Big K has been asking for a fish tank, so he decided to use his Christmas money to buy one himself.  We had to do a lot of research about what the best tank and fish would be and how much money he would need to get it.  Right now he has three tetra fish in the tank and is planning on getting a few more in the coming weeks.   The tank is in his own bedroom and he is responsible for feeding them and taking care of them! 

Happy Learning,
Momma C