Malia Li'i Kula

Oodles of free Kindle books...

2012-01-23T13:18:00.000-06:00

I love my iPad. I didn't know how much I would use it until I got it. And I admit, I am only just scratching the surface of what we can do with it. I am constantly on the look-out for new apps that will help us in our school endeavors. Mostly I look for free apps, though I have splurged and bought a few, a topic for another post!

One of the things I love about my iPad is the Kindle app for reading books. Again, I am still reading mostly free books, but I am thoroughly enjoying them, none-the-less. I use it to read at night, so I can read in bed when hubby wants to go to sleep. The lights can be off, and I can still read perfectly.

Recently, however, I came across this list on Ami's blog Walking by the Way. Oh. My. Goodness. So many books! For free! For kids! There are several on her list that I have almost purchased in paperback form, but never quite felt the need. The Burgess books, for example. I am so excited that I can now download them to my iPad! I am also excited about the Lucy Fitch Perkins Twins books. I own an ancient copy of the Japanese Twins. It was a book that sat on my grandparents shelf through my entire childhood. I nabbed it when they were preparing to move, and it is a treasured book. Being able to read all of them, however, is very exciting!

Where do you find free and inexpensive books for your kindle/nook?

Weekly wrap-up--January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T20:33:00.002-06:00

We seem to have found our groove, though I hesitate to claim that because I don't want to jinx it! It might have something to do with the fact that we only left the house on Tuesday this week. Being home, I find, helps with the homeschooling!

The big event of the week was Homeschool Book Club. It is the first time we have attended one of these. The book this time was Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick which is one of the National Homeschool Book Award books. Really good book. Don't let the length (somewhere over 600 pages) frighten you off. It is a really fast read. We met at the Bell Museum, where they have a diorama of wolves. We talked about dioramas, learned a little sign language, and made our own dioramas. Diorama pictures forthcoming. They have been working on them all week. It was great fun, in spite of the fact that the museum is on the campus of the University, it was the first day of spring semester, and it turned cold for the first time all winter.

The rest of the week we spent our time working on dioramas, learning about Martin Luther King, Jr., and doing our regular school routine.

Curriculum-wise:

Kiddo cruised through the adding money section of Singapore 3A. He would have moved into subtracting money, too, but we don't have the next books yet, so I tried to keep him in check!
Kutey is doing really well with her math! I had her identifying larger numbers, she understands odd numbers and even numbers, can count by tens all the way to 100, and add up to 20 with manipulatives.
Kutey worked on reading with 100 Easy Lessons. We are working through lessons we have previously completed. I want to build on success, which is not where we were. I also recognized this week that she gets tired easily when reading. That is one of the problems we were running into. I am considering getting her eyes checked, too.
We read Chapter 19--A New Kind of King in Story of the World, Vol. 2, about King Richard the Lion-Hearted, John Lackland, and Robin Hood. Instead of me reading all of the Robin Hood stories, I managed to find 5 of them on Storynory. I love listening to stories at lunch time, particularly if I don't have to read them!
We covered Venus in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Earth and Space. I am still looking for a really good activity to tie all the planets together. The curriculum seems a little thin. Any ideas?

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

The Piano Man

2012-01-18T13:02:00.000-06:00

Kiddo decided to teach himself to play the piano. He has been saying he wants to learn for a while, and I have been a bit slow to find a teacher. I have my reasons, though I think they are likely my own blocks, not his. I took lessons for 4 years, and while I can play, I am certainly not fantastic. I didn't like to practice and my last piano teacher took all of the joy out of it for me. As an adult, I like to sit down and play and I enjoy the fruits of my labors, but as a child I did not. The teacher really wanted to be training pianists in the making, which I was not. Even thinking about trying to find a teacher who is gentle and would make playing the piano fun instead of a chore, whose expectations would match that of the student, is daunting.

So he is teaching himself. We have taught him a few things before. Middle C. Left and right hands. Very basic things. But that has been at least a year. Maybe two. We have various lesson books at the piano--mine from when I was a child, Hubby's from the same time, and a few I have picked up at garage sales and thrift shops. Recently I purchased a new copy of the piano books I started with and gave them to Kiddo as his very own. He was thrilled.

He goes in spurts, which is fine when one is teaching oneself! There will be a week or two where he plays a lot, asks for feedback on what he has played, challenges himself to move forward. He has even co-written a song with Kutey! She wrote the lyrics and he wrote the music. Over thanksgiving he had the chance to "jam" with his very talented cousin Dimples (I have called him Dimples since he was, um, 3. He is 16 now. He still finds it amusing.) Dimples attends a special arts high school because of his musical talent. He plays multiple instruments, including the piano. He and Kiddo played for several hours. Piano, trombone, trumpet, guitar, drums. Kiddo was in heaven. I wish Dimples lived closer to us and they could do that more often.

Kiddo hasn't asked for a teacher for a while, but he has also stopped moving forward in the book. He plays the songs he knows, changes them now and then, plays with tempo and the pedals, but hasn't really moved ahead. Do I get him a teacher? How does one go about finding someone?

Weird Weather...

2012-01-17T17:55:00.000-06:00

I just used a broom to sweep the snow off my driveway. It is highly unusual that we get that little snow. This winter is so weird!

Crafts for February

2012-01-16T13:42:00.002-06:00

I am trying to be proactive. I am trying to plan ahead. Valentine's Day is coming soon, and rather than attempting to pull the crafts and activities together at the last minute, taking time out of our day to run around town picking up supplies, I am making my list now! I am hoping to gather all of the supplies together and start our festivities no later than February 1, but likely before then.
Right now, these are the activities and crafts I am looking at:

These look nummy and so easy for a Valentine's week treat.
I saw this last year and really wanted to try it. Hopefully this year
Love this! I am trying to figure out where to do this in our house. I wish we could do this to Daddy's office door, but that might not be appreciated. Maybe we can do it for St. Patrick's Day instead!
This looks simple enough for us to do, yet still festive!
This looks very cool, too, but I am not sure how many Valentine's wreaths one needs...
This is crafty, and we are learning about dioramas, but I don't have a cricut, so it might not make the cut.
We'll definitely play "capture my heart" bingo. I made these cards last year.

We'll probably have rice krispy treats with valentine's sprinkles, the kids love those, and strawberry bread, which comes out pink. Heart-shaped pizza for dinner is a distinct possibility.

What Valentine's activities do you have up your sleeve this year?

Weekly wrap-up--January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T16:02:00.003-06:00

I have been dreading this week for a month. Hubby is out of town. That may not seem like a big deal, but for us it is unusual. I was sure I was going to get tired and crabby, which would mean school did not go well. To add to the dread, there was nothing special on the calendar. No real field trips, no outside classes, nothing. Next week is loaded, but this week? Nada.

Turns out, however, that it was a decent week!

Kutey was sick Sunday to Monday with a stomach virus. Sunday was a whirlwind of that combined with getting Hubby off to the airport (thanks to friends who live close by and their willingness to drive him to the airport at the last minute!) Kiddo and I just went about our days. There was much more screen time than I normally like for those two days, but sometimes you just have to go with it. Hubby and I talked about that and buying Kutey pink Gator*de to drink. When kids are sick, we agreed, you just have to go with it.

Tuesday it was 53 degrees according to my van thermometer. 53! In January! In Minnesota! Unreal! We went to the park for a couple of hours in the afternoon with friends. T and I sat and soaked up the sun and warmth while the kids all ran around without coats. It was bliss!

Thursday we went to our friends' home for a knitting lesson. I was teaching. S knew how to knit, but forgot how to cast on. Her mom, N, didn't know anything, and Kiddo has been asking to learn since he saw Arthur learning on Arthur. So I taught. The time flew by! The kids played for a bit after that, we had some lunch with them, and then we headed home.

Today I had planned to take the kids to the Science Museum, but, well, hanging out at home is what they wanted to do. So we spent the day just hanging out here at home. Very relaxing.

Curriculum-wise:

Kiddo finished up the times tables in Singapore 3A. We move into money next week, then on to review and we'll be done! Next book is on the way.
We read Chapter 18--The Age of Crusades in Story of the World, Vol. 2. We spread the reading out over the week, it was a dense chapter.
We studied Mercury in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, Earth and Space. For Kiddo, most of this is review. He has read about space and the planets quite a bit. He is enjoying it, however.
Kutey moved back to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading. This is proving to be a difficulty, finding the right way to teach her. She can read, she is just 5 and easily distracted.
Kutey also did some math on the iPad this week, in addition to her little workbooks. I moved our theme book for this week, to give her more time to recover.
We have also been reading the book Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. We will be attending a homeschool book club next week, and this is the book. It seemed really long, but it is a remarkably quick read. It is also one of the National Homeschool Book Award nominees. Don't know about the National Homeschool Book Award? Check it out!

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Outside my window...

2012-01-13T13:03:00.003-06:00

Outside my window, there is snow falling. It has varied from snow-globe to single drifting flakes for most of the morning. It hasn't amounted to much, but it has been beautiful. Given the paucity of snow we have had this winter, I am pleased to see it. I dread the drought warnings that come when we have a light snow winter, and this is certainly one of the lightest in my memory. Of course, it has also been warm. It was 53 degrees on Tuesday. It was 13 degrees yesterday. 40 degree difference in 48 hours. Sounds about right.

I am enjoying sitting here snuggled under my blanket listening to the kids play and sipping my tea. We had plans to go to the Science Museum today. As we got ready, however, it became apparent that what the kids longed for was a day of nothing. They wanted to play with their toys. They wanted to read. They wanted to stay home. Instead of forcing a field trip that didn't have to happen, I decided to listen to the kids and just stay home.

The quiet and peace of the snow, the warm tea, the kids playing happily together, are all wonderful. This is one of those moments I want to bottle up and preserve.

Weekly wrap-up January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T14:13:00.004-06:00

I haven't blogged much since last spring. Honestly? I was burned out. See, somewhere in my head, I had this idea that this blog had to be "perfect." This blog needed to "attract readers." I wanted to have freebies to give away of worksheets or units or whatever that we had done. But it never became that. And I got discouraged and decided to just not blog.

That was an OK plan, except that I miss being able to go back and see what we have done! I like my weekly updates, if for no other reason than they give me a record of what we have done.

I am giving it a go again, but this time with less expectations. I am only committing to once a week blogging, my weekly summary. If other things pop up, so be it. But I am not going to aim for more than once a week. And I won't guarantee pictures. I take oodles of photos, but often my kids are in them. I don't want to have to worry about whether or not I got a shot without my kids. It takes energy away from where I need to be focused right now, and that is on educating my kids.

With that, here is our week in review!

We had a quiet week, a great way to start the new year.

We are still working through Story of the World Vol. 2. We read Chapter 16--England After the Conquest where we learned about the English Language, Castles, and Feudalism. We also read Chapter 17--Knights and Samurai on, well, Knights and Samurai. We read two chapters this week to try to get caught up to where I planned for us to be by now. We might be there, I can't really tell. Either way, we are still enjoying Story of the world.

We started learning about the solar system in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey--Earth and Space. We drew our own solar systems (Kutey's was quite creative!) and read about the sun. We have also all been singing Why does the Sun Shine by They Might Be Giants. I know, I know, not the most accurate song, but it is more catchy that the more correct one! We were supposed to make a solar oven, but it is January in Minnesota. We should have tried today, when temps were in the upper 40's (Not normal in January in Minnesota, in case you wondered!), but it wasn't looking like the sun would cooperate, so I didn't start the project. Turns out it was sunny, though I am still not sure we could cook a hot dog in a small solar oven at this time of year.

Kiddo wrote 2 reports this week, one on sharks the other on tropical fish. This was something he wanted to do. He came up with the topics himself, found the books, and wrote the reports. His construction was pretty good, but we need to work on spelling and penmanship!

Kiddo continues to work through the times tables in Singapore Math 3A. He'll be on schedule to move into 3B in February. He needs to work on memorizing the tables, but at least the concepts of multiplication and division are fairly well understood.

I ramped up school with Kutey a bit. I had become a bit lazy with her. She is resistant to doing most things ("I don't like to..." was heard daily!), but she is almost 6 and I am feeling the need to get her a bit more on track. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons was not working well for us, she was having trouble focusing long enough to get through a lesson because they were boring, so I gave up for a while. For the last month or so I have had her read Bob Books. She likes those more, though she still complains. I can tell her reading is improving, though, so I have stuck with it. We are currently reading Level B, Set 1, Kids! (Set 3 in the new numbering) We are just over halfway through our first reading. I'll have her read them at least once more before we move on.

I also printed off the Preschool pack and Kindergarten add-on for Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree from Homeschool Creations. I love Jolanthe's collections. I will have to supplement for Kutey, since she is really halfway through kindergarten already, but she enjoys the activities (as much as she enjoys anything!) I used the stocking counting activity to cover skip counting by 2's. We also covered odd and even numbers with the ornament addition page and the stockings. Kutey grasped both concepts quickly. She counted by two's in her head the very first time we covered it! When I asked her, she said she just told herself to skip the number in between. Guess no formal math teaching this year hasn't hurt her! We are going to have to cover larger numbers in the coming weeks, she is more than ready.

We ventured out for our Tuesday group where the kids put on a performance of Cinderella for the moms. We also ventured out on Friday to run errands, buy birthday presents for Daddy (though I am not sure who the presents are really for...), and get some books for Kiddo's next reports (he is really enjoying them!).

And that brings us to the end of the week!

How was your week?

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Better Caffeinated

2012-01-04T21:53:00.002-06:00

Me, that is. I am so much better with caffeine. Really. I even tested it this morning.

See, I was grumpy, and grouching at the kids. School is much more painful when you are crabby! So I decided to have a cup of tea, chai to be more accurate. I love chai. I started drinking it, and suddenly the world was brighter. Seriously. We floated through the morning, blissfully working on school, which was done--get this!--BEFORE LUNCH! Yep, that's right, we worked everything on the schedule before lunch! I could hardly believe it. There was much less complaining, and I was so much less crabby.

So I have decided to embrace it. Caffeine, after all, is a small vice to have, right?

Natural experimentation

2011-12-19T15:53:00.003-06:00

We just finished a science lab that involved blowing items across the floor with a fan. Fun! Kutey came up with another idea she wanted to test. it involved putting the packing peanuts we had blown across the floor into the cardboard tube we had been using and trying to shoot them into the air...I told her to have at it.

This has led to 45 minutes of experimenting (with no direction from me!) to find the perfect combination to make the project work. Kiddo and Kutey have been trouble shooting, hypothesizing, testing, and ultimately succeeding! Engineering at work. Cost? Almost nothing--empty wrapping paper tubes, empty paper towel tubes, a few Di*ie cups, and packing peanuts. But what they are learning--all on their own--is worth so much more!

This is why I homeschool!

You have to love a science curriculum

2011-10-26T14:39:00.004-05:00

You have to love a science curriculum that has you make this:

from this:

and this:

in order to explain how these:

were made.

Fudge as an igneous rock. Gotta love it!

You know it's time to clean the bird feeder when...

2011-06-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

it's sprouting!

Don't worry, I cleaned it. It was totally disgusting, but I did it. Hope the birdies appreciate it!

Harry Potter LEGOS

2011-06-04T00:13:00.004-05:00

Kiddo had a birthday. The main thing on his list? LEGOS. Any LEGOS. But mostly Harry Potter LEGOS. There was a sale a month or so ago, so Kiddo lucked out! He got 4 Harry Potter LEGO sets in 2 days. The Burrow, Quidditch, Hagrid's Hut, and Freeing Dobby. He was thrilled. They have been built since Monday, and played with every day since. They have been set up one way, then another way, then yet another. He has planned the spaces for Hogwarts, Hogwarts Express, and Diagon Alley. Expensive taste!

This was today's set up. For a little while.

This is the inside of Hagrid's Hut. Fun, no?

This is the best brick ever. It lights up! Can't you feel the warmth of the fire?

And please, PLEASE, P.L.E.A.S.E., tell me you have a space in your house that looks like this:

He has a set of three drawers plastic drawers, in addition to 2 large plastic bin (HUGE bins), none of which are in this picture. Why, oh why, oh why, can't the LEGOS make their way back to those boxes? Why must they continue to migrate about my family room, pausing on various flat surfaces long enough to frustrate me?

Truthfully, while it bugs me, I know I will miss it when he no longer leaves LEGOS around. It will mean he has grown up. I just have to remind myself of that every time I step on a rogue LEGO.

Weekly Wrap-up--June 3, 2011

2011-06-03T18:40:00.004-05:00

We had a busy, BUSY weekend, followed but what should have been a busy week. Unfortunately the busy weekend led to illness (seriously, can we just be healthy for a while?!?), so our week became much less busy.

Saturday was Kiddo's birthday, so the day was all about him. We went to the George Washington exhibit at the Minnesota History Center (it closed the next day--just made it!), out to lunch at P*rkins, home for some gifts, LEGO play, and "How to Train Your Dragon," the movie. We had "biggie pancakes" (Swedish pancakes) for dinner followed by marble cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. NUM!

Sunday we had a family party for Kiddo. More cake was consumed, more presents opened, and more fun had! And Kiddo got his hair cut. A lot. I think there was more hair on the floor than there was left on his head! But it will be much cooler for summer, which was what he wanted.

Monday was an extended family picnic. My aunt was in town from Florida, so my dad hosted a family picnic. It was so fun to see people I hadn't seen in a while! And the food! Oh the FOOD! 5 kinds of salad and 5 kinds of dessert. Really, I could have gone without a main course!

Tuesday I was feeling just drained. Hubby left for a business trip in the morning, we had been on the go for three days straight, and our regular Tuesday gathering was a bit of a drive away. Normally that doesn't bother me, but this time I just couldn't see it happening. Turns out it was fortuitous, since Kutey started complaining that her throat was sore about noon. I did the "strep or not strep" debate for a while, and settled on not strep when she started to get stuffed up. We managed to get through the school basics, but not much else.

I cancelled our dentist appointments when Kutey started complaining of a sore throat. Not knowing what was going on, I wanted them to be able to fill the spots if possible. That meant Wednesday was a home day, too! We did a few school things, but not much. My sister came out in the evening to stay with the kids so I could attend a Bon Voyage party for my friend A who will be summering in Ireland. My sister also made us dinner. She is a great sister.

We did reading, math, and started science on Thursday before we headed out to hit a couple of garages sales and have lunch with my aunt from Florida at a favorite restaurant. All three of my sisters, my cousin, and my grandmother were also there. After lunch we hit the park with Cousin C (and my sister (his mom) and my other sister). It was a beautiful afternoon, at least until I realized just how tired and whiny my kids had become!

Today (Friday) we stayed in and mostly relaxed. We did a little school, but just the minimum. Kiddo played LEGOS, arranging the Harry Potter sets for the millionth time this week and Kutey gave us lovely dance performances in her dress-up clothes.

Curriculum:

Kiddo has one lesson plus the review left in Explode the Code 7. He'll finish that up next week. The slower pace is really working well for him! I probably should have slowed him down, oh, three books ago...
Kiddo returned to multiplication in math this week. He was very happy about that, until the 4's times table proved trickier than the 2's and 3's. I have had him practicing on our new toy in addition to working the problems in the book. Today he seemed to be getting them better.
We read Chapter 41: The Attacking Barbarians in Story of the World, Vol. 1. We learned about Attila the Hun, Stilicho, the Visigoths, and the Vandals. We have one chapter left in the book. We still have a few activities to do, but I think we will welcome the end of the book and the break before we start the next book!
We started learning about Arthropods in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey--Life, Vol. 1. We are sort of working them all together. The lab for Unit 16-Insects is to raise a caterpillar to butterfly, but I haven't ordered that yet. We'll likely come back to it later in the summer. We did the reading now, though. We'll finish up Unit 17 (arachnids), 18 (crustaceans), and 20 (fish--which is not an arthropod, but now that I have a fish bowl, the pet store will sell me a fish to study) in the next two weeks, spend a week working on our wrap-up book, and start our new curriculum in July sometime!
Kutey has continued working on 100 Easy Lessons. We'll go back to Starfall some this summer, because she likes it. We'll also be reading books! I am very excited to enter the next phase of reading with her!
We didn't work much math this week, just what came up in daily activities. I need to find and print off some activities just for math for her.

We'll be back to a more complete schedule, hopefully, next week. The busy, long weekend really wore us out. And the cold Kutey acquired didn't help matters. But homeschooling means being able to roll with the off weeks, which is one of the things I love about it!

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

I love garage sales!

2011-06-02T23:07:00.001-05:00

Where else can you get all this for less than $17?!?!

30 items. That's less than 60 cents an item!

George Washington--History Exhibit

2011-05-30T00:56:00.000-05:00

The History Center has had a George Washington Exhibit since February. It was on the calendar a couple of times, but we never made it. So when I realized it was closing I knew exactly what we needed to do for Kiddo's birthday. It didn't take much persuading to get Kiddo on board; I'm pretty sure I had him at "History."

*

There are several halls at the history center. We only made it to one. We have been there a few times now and it seems we can only get to one or two exhibits in a visit. This time, Kiddo and I read every sign, watched every second of every video, did every interactive piece, and saw every inch of the George Washington exhibit. Kutey and Daddy went through much faster than we did, and they still saw everything.

It was a well done, comprehensive exhibit. The life size Washington's were nice, and sort of supposed to be one of the highlights and unique pieces of the exhibit. They were cool, but there were definitely other things kiddo enjoyed more.

All of the high points in Washington's life were touched on. They started at his birth, talked about his days as a surveyor, his early military career, his involvement in the revolution, his presidency, his return to Mount Vernon, and his death. They even had a video regarding Washington's slave ownership. It was quite interesting.

Kiddo was enthralled. He filled in gaps for me, because he has read a great deal about the Revolutionary War (Thanks Magic Tree House!). He did have to ask for a bit of timeline clarification, because Washington served in the military two separate times. When it said he left the military the first time, Kiddo was confused, because none of what he knew of Washington's military career had yet been covered! Once I stated the dates again, however, all was clarified.

There were a couple of things that piqued his curiosity for further study: the Freemasons and spies during the Revolution. There was a fantastic short video about the spies of the war. I admit, I am as interested in learning more as Kiddo is!

We also learned a bit about Mount Vernon. They had a scale model of the estate, which was fun to see given our previous virtual tour of the estate. It really is a massive estate! It was fun to see the model, even if the tidbits you could read were mostly the same as the tidbits on the website. It was good review, right?

They had one live person with early dental tools. Washington had terrible teeth, even though he was good about taking care of them using the practices of the day. The person at the table thought he would stump Kiddo, as he had stumped others before, by asking him what the tooth key was for. Kiddo knew. Not because he had heard what the person said before, but because that is one of the things they show regularly at Fort Snelling. It was also, incidentally, pictured in the display on Washington's false teeth (none of which were not made of wood!), probably 5 feet before you reached the table. All those people who had been previously stumped? Obviously they had not paid much attention to that portion of the display!

We left after 2+ hours of reading. While Kiddo could have read it all, I read quite a bit of it to him, in part to expedite the process and in part because I could start reading to him while there were still people in his way. There were a lot of people there, mostly adults, but a few kids mixed in.

Kiddo loved the whole thing, but I think his favorite parts were seeing how the grist mill worked (they had both a model and a video), the information on espionage during the revolution (a video), the Mount Vernon model, and the quiz at the end. We have now seen the Benjamin Franklin exhibit and the George Washington exhibit at the History Center. I wonder what they will bring in next!

*photos are not allowed inside the exhibit, hence the somewhat boring shots!

Garden fun

2011-05-27T17:19:00.004-05:00

Gardening memories made today:

Kutey standing in the bright orange bucket to stomp the weeds down, while Kiddo held it steady. ( I took a mental picture of that one. So fun!)
Kiddo quietly and carefully trying to catch a robin, then being spooked when the robin took off!
Kiddo literally collapsing into the garden bed stating, "I would not want to be a pioneer!" We had just discussed how they had to clear their own land to farm.
Kutey stating "This is a very symbiotic relationship." She is 5. I didn't teach her that.
Kiddo announcing every worm he found. There were zillions of worms. Every shovelful I scooped had at least 2. So "Worm!" was kind of an understatement!
Kutey "planting" her shovel in the garden, then telling me we had a new plant growing.
Both kids lugging the bucket down the hill to empty it, after they had stomped it down so many times that it was deceptively heavy! They made it, but it was funny to watch.
Bugs, bugs, and more bugs! Each needing to be observed and identified, well, at least observed!
The kids coming back from dumping the bucket as Minions from Despicable Me. I couldn't understand them, but they were cracking up!

We headed out to the garden this afternoon before it started to rain. Again. Sigh. Kinda tired of this. It is better than severe weather, but it gets old. Especially when it seems to always hit on the weekend!

We managed to get about 1/3 of the first bed cleared. That is about half of what has to be cleared in that bed. The irises are in one corner, the thyme in another, so it is the space in the two other corners that has to be cleared if I want to plant anything. I pulled yards and yards of grass roots. Literally. Ugh. Gardening, however, was so much more fun with the kids there to entertain me!

Weekly Wrap-up--May 27, 2011

2011-05-27T13:45:00.004-05:00

Without pictures and only a few links, again. I likely won't get to blogging until next week again though, so I thought I should do the weekly wrap while I was thinking about it.

We went camping on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weather was less than ideal. It rained every day, and was so wet there was no place to set up a chair in our site that wasn't under a half inch of water. We had a great time, though! It was our first camping trip with the camper we bought in November. We love it. It is perfect for our family. It makes camping so much more pleasurable to have something that just fits for us!

Monday was a good school day. We got through what we needed to and got to spend the evening with good friends. Our friend A and her son M are spending the summer in Ireland (her husband is there on business) and (jealous? just a bit!), so we got together with 3 other families and had a surprise dinner with them. They were surprised, but before they got to us. The row of minivans out front gave us away!

We went geocaching with our homeschool friends on Tuesday. We searched for three caches, but only found one. One was too wet to find and the other we searched for, but couldn't find. I want to go back now, though. I looked it up at geocaching.com, and I think we might not have looked hard enough...

We had dentist appointments on Wednesday, which ate up a good chunk of the morning. We went for a walk when we got home, though the wind was a little cool! We finished all of our school work in the afternoon, though we usually try to get it done in the morning because by afternoon everyone is tired! We managed, though. For dinner, we had a Celtic feast of roast chicken, bread (without butter), berries and grape juice to go along with our study of the Celts and the Romans in Story of the World Vol. 1 Chapter 40. Kiddo and Kutey narrated what they have been learning for Daddy. I was quite impressed with the amount they remembered!

Thursday we attended a performance of Pinkalicious at Stages Theatre in Hopkins. Yes, Pinkalicious, like the book. Kutey loves pink. She enjoys the story of Pinkalicious. Daddy got to go with us, and we had fun! We finished school work in the afternoon, learned more about echinoderms in Real Science Odyssey-Life, then hit the park with some friends. The weather was too beautiful to pass up! In the evening, Kiddo and Kutey built an ice cream shop where Daddy and I ate our fill. YUM! All the talk about ice cream resulted in a trip to the store for some real ice cream. Double YUM!

Today, Friday, we have been working through some school stuff, cleaning out the van so Daddy can take it to get new tires, reading, reading, reading about all sorts of fun things (including echinoderms and jellyfish, along with the entire pink book collection--I'll post about that another time!) We are also preparing for a birthday this weekend!

Curriculum wise:

Kiddo is pushing through mental math. He much prefers writing the problems out, but he is working through it with few complaints.
Kiddo is nearing completion of Explode the Code book 7. We slowed down a bit, though. He is only doing half the lesson at a time. He was getting overwhelmed. ETC has always been something he liked, but this book adds a few different activities that are great, but take a bit more time, like reading comprehension activities. I decided it would be better to have him still enjoy it, so we cut the lessons in half. That is going better.
We read Chapter 40 "Rome Begins to Weaken" in Story of the World, Vol. 1. We had a Celtic feast to go along with the study. We are planning to do a finding North, South, East, and West activity as well, but we need to have a sunny morning where we have no where to be! That hasn't happened yet.
We wrapped up our study of Echinoderms (Unit 15) in Real Science Odyssey--Life. We did a lab where we made different echinoderm shapes out of a banana peel. Super fun, and memorable!
Kutey has been working through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She is doing great! It is so interesting to see how differently my two kids learn! We also did a few math activities (thing I wrote on the white board).
Kutey has been playing a Dr. Seuss game on the computer, also. It has three levels, pre-k to 1. She whizzed through the pre-k stuff and has had no trouble with the Kindergarten stuff. I'm anxious to see how she does with the first grade stuff.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Pinkalicious

2011-05-26T21:34:00.005-05:00

Chances are if you have a little girl who is into pink, you have heard of Pinkalicious. You may have even read it once or twice, or a thousand times. I know we have! It is, in fact, one of "The Pink Books," a collection of stories that must all be read together, it seems, and are all either pink or princess, and some are both! So when we heard that Stages Theatre Company was putting the book on stage, I knew we would be going.

Kiddo is a good sport and he likes going to plays. Even though Pinkalicious isn't his favorite story (there are no dragons or LEGOS), he was game to go. Even Daddy took the morning to go with us. He sometimes feels left out because we go to so many fun things! That meant Kutey had the best seat in the house, Daddy's lap. Gotta love that.

The highlights of the play? For Kutey, "EVERYTHING!" Yep, it was a play made for her. For Kiddo, the bicycle built for 4 complete with a security system. It was rather entertaining! I especially enjoyed watching dad retrieve the bicycle. The actors who portrayed Mom and Dad were also very entertaining. I enjoyed their performances. And the dancing cupcakes. Who doesn't like dancing cupcakes!

As with any adaptation of a picture book, there had to be a bit of embellishing. They stuck to the basic story, but added a few things in. For one thing, Dad was a much bigger character in the play than he was in the book. So was the friend. And there were songs. Most of the additions to the storyline were simply embellishments of what exists in the book and songs that played off parts of the story line. The staging was thoughtful and interesting, bright and colorful with enough pink to fit the general theme of the play.

It was an interesting performance. The performers were fine, and did well with the material given to them. I guess I just didn't like some of the material given to them. Examples? Just a couple. At one point, the friend, Alison, gets upset because Pinkalicious forgets to bring her one of the cupcakes. She storms off, saying "I'm not playing with you, you're not my friend," or something to that effect. Now, I *KNOW* this happens in real life, particularly among girls of elementary age, but does it really need to be reinforced as OK in a theater production directed specifically at that age group? Eventually, they resolve their differences, but I was left feeling like they could have either avoided that all together, or done a better job of using it to model better problem solving. It just wasn't necessary to the storyline.

They also devoted an entire song to the line, "You get what you get and you don't get upset." OK, yes. BUT...they ended up taking it a little to far. And the book at least says "but I did get upset." The song seemed to sort of make it seem as though feeling upset was not OK. I work hard to let my kids know that emotions are OK. It is OK to be upset. That doesn't mean they will get what they want. You still get what you get. The positive line from the song? "Sometimes life doesn't turn out just exactly as planned." I can get behind that. But it is OK to be sad when that happens. It is OK to be upset. It is OK, even, to be angry. Kids need to learn to recognize those emotions, recognize what is going on, and handle them appropriately. Life isn't always going to come out as you hoped, that is true, but bottling your emotions about that isn't going to help, either.

That is just writing, however, and should not take away from the performances of the actors. They did a fine job, I just wasn't entirely pleased with the adaptation. Probably just me! The kids didn't seem to care! They enjoyed the performance.

(clunk, clunk, scrape)

OK, Off my soap box.

We will continue to go to Stages Theatre, because they do put on wonderful shows. We loved The Snowy Day last year! There are only a couple I am interested in next season, but it seems one a year is what we can get to!

A little behind

2011-05-26T21:31:00.002-05:00

May has turned out to be a very busy month! I don't know where the time has gone, but it hasn't been to blogging. Because of that, I have a bunch of things I need to blog about in order to keep my blog up-to-date as a record of our homeschooling. So you will be seeing a few posts (I hope) that are not in order. They will be post-dated, so they may seem like they just happened, but they didn't. Hopefully it will happen in one somewhat big mass, and then I will be caught up again!

Wish me luck!

Garden Challenge Post #3

2011-05-26T20:21:00.003-05:00

Post #3? Already? the Homeschool Village's Garden Challenge is really flying by! You can read our first posts here.

The weather has been interesting. We had a slow spring, meaning planting had to be delayed. Then we have had rain, followed by more rain. It was already wet, the rain just made it wetter. Not exactly inspiring me to garden! Add to that the fact that we have been busier than I thought we would be, and well, you get this:

Our garden. Or not. We did get the tree out of it. We spent a day in the cold and the rain burning it in the backyard fire pit after I was told the cost of hauling it away. I am seeing more backyard fires in our future...

The fence has not been erected yet, but given that the deer are regular and frequent visitors to our yard (not that I have seen them often, their droppings give them away!), we definitely need one.* We also have baby bunnies living in our yard. Yeah, they could end a garden pretty fast, too. So planting isn't an option yet.

What does that mean for our garden? Well, it means likely that we will container garden again this year. That isn't the end of the world. Though with no major vacations planned for the summer, this was a good summer to have a garden. Time and weather were not on our side this spring. We'll work on the fence over the summer and hopefully be ready to go by next planting season! I am scaling back our garden plans. We will have two to 4 tomato plants, in containers, likely on the deck. We will have 2 bell pepper plants, in containers, again likely on the deck! We will try to plant some herbs in the lower part of the container, to have our pizza garden. And we will still think about the sunflowers Kutey so desperately wants to grow. The deer left them alone for a while last summer, so maybe we can plant them and then get the fence up before they get big enough for the deer. We'll see.

In the meantime, there is thyme!

Everywhere in the garden. Thyme has spread over maybe two-thirds of the garden. I planted thyme several years ago, and it just keeps spreading, and spreading, and spreading!

And there are irises!

I totally forgot about these. My neighbor asked me a few years ago if she could plant them in the corner of my garden temporarily. She had received them as a gift, but wasn't sure where she wanted them. They had to get in the ground. Temporary became permanent, which isn't really a problem. They are doing quite well where they are and should be blooming in a couple of weeks!

*We have seen deer. Six once, nine another time. Shortly after seeing the nine, I was out walking in the yard in the dark, enjoying the stars and the frogs, when I heard something huff at me. I moved very, VERY fast, away from the sound and toward the only light available, my neighbors backyard fire. The neighbors had a good chuckle at my deer encounter. Judging by the sound, I was actually pretty close to them. A little spooky! So I know the deer are present!

LEGO Duck boats

2011-05-26T16:26:00.000-05:00

Kiddo came up stairs one day to show me his "boat with wheels."

Very cool.

I told him I thought it looked like a Duck Boat. They were used in World War II, but now you can ride them through the Wisconsin Dells (and probably other places, I just know you can ride them in the Dells). Kiddo was intrigued, so we spent s little time talking about them, and Daddy, who has actually seen one in person, explained them much better than I did.

Then Kiddo built more!

Guess what summer activity has been added to our wish list.

Our Classroom Today--Geocaching!--May 24, 2011

2011-05-24T22:08:00.001-05:00

It was a beautiful spring day, the kind we have had far too few of this year, so we hit one of our favorite parks with our Tuesday group. Chutes and Ladders is a fun playground, but I honestly think my kids enjoy the rest of the park just as much, if not more!

One of the new things that has added to the fun is geocaching! The visitors' center has GPS units you can check out and maps to caches. There are 7, I believe, within the park. They have all been placed by individuals, in conjunction with the park, so they are all different. They let us check out 4 GPS units, which was fabulous since we have 8 kids! We picked the closest cache (that didn't require a boat!) and set off. About half the group had geocached before, last summer when we went camping with another Tuesday group family.

We managed to find a the spot where we believed the first cache was, but we were not able to find it. We searched and searched in what seemed to be the proper location, given the trampled appearance of the area. Yet we found nothing. I checked the geocaching.com website when I got home, and the kids and I might just have to go back and look for it again!

We picked a second cache that was supposedly close by, and set out. It was funny, we had a tough time picking a direction. The paths did not go the direction the cache was supposed to be and we were struggling to read the map. I pride myself on being fairly good at reading a map. But this map. This map was crazy. There were things on the path that didn't exist on the map. An entire picnic area seemed to have been forgotten. Add to that the fact that the map was a black and white copy of what seems to have been a color map originally, and, well, you get the idea. It was a lovely walk, though! And we managed to get on the right path, and then off the path in the right area. Just as we were getting frustrated again, we found it!

I might have stolen a bit of the thrill. I made them leave it where it was until everyone had seen it and I had gotten a picture of it. I'm mean like that. And I want to be sure all the kids are included. It is pretty easy in a big group like that for someone to miss it. But they were excited. We peered at the bits and bobbles left behind by previous cache finders and we added our name to the list.

Fresh off our victory we headed to "just one more!" on our way back. We got within 100 feet of it, but that last 100 feet was, well, mud. And more mud. With a little mud mixed in, just for good measure. It was just too wet. So we turned in our GPS units. We had fun, though! And might try it again some time.

As we were leaving, Kiddo was walking backward saying goodbye to all of his friends. He wasn't really paying attention and backed right into a curbed landscaping area. He sat down into a bush. It was one of those moments that could have either been extremely upsetting to him, or laughable. So I laughed. And so did he. It was rather humorous. But it made me realize that my reaction has a tremendous impact on his reaction. If I can laugh, knowing he wasn't hurt, he will see the humor in it, too. They teach you something new every day.

CAMPING!

2011-05-23T19:49:00.001-05:00

Last November we bought a camper. Nothing too grand, but it isn't a pop up, either. It is a travel trailer. November in Minnesota is not camping season. In fact, the camper was already winterized when we bought it. Our final camping trip of the year had been a couple of weeks before, in my dad's camper. So our new (used) camper was parked for the winter.

Industrial strength rain boots, ready for the mud. Wish I had some!

But just because it wasn't camping season, didn't mean that we couldn't plan! The earliest it seemed sensible to go camping in an unknown camper was May. Plans were made, supplies were purchased (we still have quite a few wants for the camper, but we were able to make it through a weekend), and off we went.

This is our campsite. We didn't even try to set chairs out. They would have sunk right in.

In the rain. Well, not in the rain. We got to the campsite and set up before it rained. The kids and I walked a bit around the campground, and then the first of the rain came. And stayed. It rained and rained and rained. We were snug and dry in the camper. The newness hadn't worn off, so the kids were content. We played games, colored, and learned to tie knots. It was great.

A common sight along the hiking trails

The weather didn't clear up until Saturday afternoon. It didn't stop us from going on a hike in the morning, in the rain. We dodged mud and puddles bigger than the path. We saw wildflowers and birds. We enjoyed the weather, well, we tolerated the weather. When it cleared up in the afternoon, we hiked some more! There had been so much rain that they closed one of the creek crossings. The creek was as high as I have ever seen it, and we have been going to this park for a while. It was so churned up and filled with so much run-off that it looked like chocolate milk.

No kidding!

I need to find the picture of this falls from 2007 when we camped here. It was literally a trickle that year!

It rained again on Saturday night. A lot. And thundered. A lot. It was not a terribly restful night. We got up on Sunday and the weather wasn't awful. We went for a little walk, but the paths were even worse than before, so we didn't walk far. A quick glance at the radar on the hubby's droid showed the rain coming. By the time we loaded up and got the camper back to my sister's where we store it, there was a severe weather warning. It went north of us, with tornadoes hitting the northern part of Minneapolis. We were just glad to get home before anything severe.

One of the more unusual looking flowers blooming at the park.

We had a great time, in spite of the weather. There were tons of birds to see, Baltimore Orioles in quantities I have never before encountered, Red-headed Woodpeckers, American Redstarts, Goldfinches, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Eastern Bluebirds, among others! And flowers, oh the FLOWERS! I have no idea what most of them are. We totally forgot to bring our field guides with us. We were able to borrow a bird book, but not a flower book. I took pictures, so hopefully we will be able to identify them from those! Kiddo and I learned to tie 10 different knots* using the game Knot So Fast (Have you heard of it? It is great!). We also just enjoyed each others company with few distractions. The only electronic toy we used? Daddy's droid, for checking the weather which was necessary several times.

We saw this when we arrived home. Rainbows always make me happy.

We can't wait until our next trip!

*Knots we learned to tie:

overhand knot
slip knot
figure eight knot
ring hitch
clove hitch
overhand loop
figure eight loop
double overhand knot
reef knot (I learned this one as square knot. Apparently there is another one named that, though)
stevedore knot

Weekly Wrap-up--May 6, 2011

2011-05-06T16:48:00.004-05:00

No pictures, no links. They'll be added as I blog the week, probably over the weekend!

Monday came and went, and I have little recollection of it. I know we did work, because it is all checked off. I just can't seem to remember what we did, what the weather was, or anything of importance regarding the day.

Tuesday was BEAUTIFUL! Sunny and warm. Sunny enough that some of us, who shall remain nameless, came home with sunburn! We spent the day playing at the park and romping in the woods. We also brought home snails! We needed them for science.

Wednesday was a productive school day. In addition to our other work, we studied snails for science! I had been wondering how we were going to do these labs, since they call for garden snails, which we do not have! We substituted pond snails, found on Tuesday by our friend O. We wound up with 14 of them, which we freed in our own pond after we measured them, weighed them, and observed them.

Thursday we attended a concert at Orchestra Hall, the last for the year. It was a great performance which included a vaudeville performer! Much fun. We hit IKEA for lunch (a favorite for my kids!), and picked up a few more bins and boxes. I'll get organized yet!

Today (Friday) turned out to be beautiful. I cut school a little short to let the kids enjoy lots of time outside. Given how slowly spring has come this year, time outside was desperately needed this week.

Curriculum wise:

Kiddo finished up his Math book! YAY! I put off starting the next one until next week. We used Khan Academy for practice the remainder of the week.
Kiddo flying through book 7 of Explode the Code. I hope he is retaining it!
In Spanish, Little Pim, Kiddo has 3 or 4 lessons left before he hits the end. He has decided he will go back and repeat the lessons when he is done. I think that is an excellent idea.
We completed Unit 14--Mollusks in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey--Life. Snails were so much fun! I think I was more enthralled with them than the kids were.
We read more about Julius Caesar in Chapter 35 Story of the World, Vol. 1. We also learned about Roman Numerals. Later tonight, I hope to get to measuring using our own feet.
Kutey is still doing 100 Easy Lessons. Since we went back a few, she flies through the lesson. This is good news, since it means she is gaining confidence as well!
We have been playing some games with the numbers one through 20, reinforcing them. We need to work a few more.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Weekly Wrap-up--April 29, 2011

2011-04-29T22:38:00.001-05:00

Another week has flown by!

Monday the weather was much nicer than it has been, so we went for a walk. We hunted yellow, and battled trolls and Yetis along the way.

Tuesday we headed to the Mall of America to visit Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium (formerly Underwater World or Underwater Adventures). No trip to the Mall would be complete without a stop by the LEGO store, which has been completely redone since our last visit!

We had a nice quiet day at home on Wednesday.

Thursday found us at friends and eating up the rest of the day running errands. But we had some fun with Spanish at the library!

Friday we got up SUPER early to watch the Royal Wedding. Well, that and get sick, if you are Kutey.

Curriculum:

Kiddo started Explode the Code book 7. He'll be done with it in no time. Guess I should figure out what spelling program we will start when we are done with Explode the Code.
Kiddo is nearing the end of his Math book. He will likely move to the next book either the end of the coming week or the beginning of the following. Depends on how our flow is.
We read Chapter 34, The Rise of Julius Ceasar in Story of the World, Vol. 1. I feel like we have been sort of "plowing through" our history, not doing as many of the extras and activities as we have done before. I'll be giving that some thought this week.
We started Unit 12: Cnidaria in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life 1, but didn't finish it. We'll wrap it up the beginning of next week.
Kiddo and I are continuing our leaf monitoring for nature study. They are rather slow to come out this year, but after a sunny day, they have popped a bit. Kutey sometimes joins us, sometimes she doesn't.
Kutey and I went back into Teach Your Child to read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this to teach Kiddo how to read. Kutey and I worked through 40 lessons a year ago, but then she tired of it. She was just barely 4 at the time, so I wasn't too worried. We're combining it with Starfall and a few other resources. Hopefully.
We started rowing Night of the Moonjellies to coincide with our study of Cnidaria. We covered quite a bit, but there are a few leftovers to cover next week. I don't have a book scheduled to row next week, so it will be fine. I am terribly inconsistent with my rowing.
We picked up some Perler beads for fine motor practice, too.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

What happened to Thursday?

2011-04-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

Some days just seem to disappear before my eyes. Thursday was one of those days. We did not get much of what was on the calendar accomplished. That isn't to say we didn't have a good day!

The kids were excited because we were going to friends for the morning. They really were not focused on anything. We left a little early with the intent of stopping by a garage sale on our way. It was a rainy, COLD day, but there were sales none-the-less! I managed to get 2 shirts for kiddo, but that was all.

We had a great time at our friends! These are the kids I used to watch on Mondays. They haven't been to our house for several weeks and the kids were very excited to see them. I got to spend some time chatting with their mom, which is always rewarding.

We left there just before lunch. There was another garage sale touted as one for homeschoolers and I had books to return to the library, so we went to the sale on our way to the library. They had *some* stuff, but I walked out with little for school. Kiddo was most excited about the sandwich container I got. We had one, now we have 2. They can each use one. Apparently this was exciting.

Then we went to the library. Going to the library is a commitment right now. There are 2 libraries about 3 miles from our house. One has a terrible selection, the other is currently closed for renovation. So we have to drive 8 miles to another library. I know 8 miles isn't that far, but it is literally all stoplights. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes to get there. Often I run in to return books and pick up the ones I have on hold. Today, though I needed to look up a few books that weren't already waiting for me. Books we will use for science. So we all went in.

And I am thrilled we did! Kiddo requested books on fish. So we found some. And a book on Manta Rays. So we got a book on Rays. And sea stars. Among others. Kutey wanted to look at "kid books." We have been reading a lot of chapter books and non-fiction books, and I think she just wants me to read more picture books. The fact that she picked out one book after another to "read before we take it home, so I can decide if I want it or not," probably supports that theory. We sat in the great reading room and read for a long time. Then we started playing with this:

So. Much. Fun. I'd call out a word, in Spanish, for Kiddo to say and find. Then he called out words for me. Then Kutey stood on a word and Kiddo said it. By the end, Kiddo could easily say the words and find them. Great learning game. It made me realize this would be super easy to do at home, just using paper!

It was almost 3 by the time we left there, and I needed to pick up contacts, so we went through the drive-through. I don't like doing that, but the kids were starving, and we were an hour from getting home.

After picking up the contacts, we headed to the thrift shop. An unscheduled stop. But Kutey had done perler beads for the first time at our friends, and she wanted some for home. They are good for fine motor skills, so I was willing to indulge her. I know the thrift shop always has them, so it was easy. Kiddo picked up a few books while we were there, too.

Then we headed home, by way of a few garage sales. Didn't get much, but you just never know!

Hubby arrived home not much after us, and we discovered that his car had been broken into while parked in the driveway overnight. There was nothing in it to steal, so they got nothing, it was just totally disconcerting to have someone in our car! In our driveway! Such a violation.

So that is what happened to Thursday! I can't wait until the library closer reopens so that we won't lose a whole afternoon just taking a quick trip to the library!

Where were you at 2 am?

2011-04-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

Did you get up early to watch the Royal Wedding?

We did. Sort of. I set the alarm for 2 am when I went to bed at 10 pm. At 12:30 am, Kutey cried from her room, said she was sick, and we beat it to the bathroom. Nothing came of it. She went back to bed, back to sleep. I went back to bed. The alarm went off, I decided to let the kids sleep for a bit longer. They had other plans. Kutey woke up 15 minutes later, again complaining that she didn't feel well, we hit the bathroom, nothing. Kiddo woke up and asked if it was time to get up, so I let him.

For the next hour, we watched the wedding hype. Well, Kiddo, hubby, and I did. Kutey was still miserable. And miserable became truly sick at 3:15. Ugh. After that, she went to sleep. She woke up briefly just in time to see the bride get into her car and drive off to the abbey. She also woke up to see the kiss on the balcony. Other than that, however, my little princess missed the whole royal extravaganza. Poor thing. She was feeling better by the middle of the day, thank goodness.

We caught a recap of the wedding, so all was not lost. She got to see all the good parts, without the long drawn out parts. Kiddo kept telling her "oh, and then there was singing that lasted forever!" or "We saw the guests come to the church, and then it was forever before anything good happened." He watched just about the full 5+ hours, dozing only briefly while we waited for the balcony appearance.

It was such fun to watch! Catherine was a beautiful bride. Her dress was fabulous. I loved watching Princes William and Harry interact. The carriage was fairytale. I think that might have been Kutey's favorite part.

Did you watch? What was your favorite part?

Links:

Shuttle Endeavour Delayed

2011-04-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

After the early morning for the wedding this morning, we were looking forward to watching the space shuttle Endeavour. It was a bummer that they had to delay, but it actually might work out better. We might be more awake when it launches now!

In the meantime, I found some fun information! NASA has announced where the four shuttles will be placed on display. I hope we can go see one of them someday. Kiddo would love it!

I also found this map of where the space station is.

We'll be watching the updates, waiting to hear when the launch will be!

LEGO Aquarium

2011-04-29T17:37:00.003-05:00

Our trip the aquarium earlier this week had a big impact on Kiddo, apparently. I often find out how important or exciting something is to him by what he builds out of LEGOS. This week was no different.

He built an aquarium! So FUN! He had tanks for the octopus, seahorses, and fish.

Seahorses! There was even a find the seahorses game!

I ~~demanded~~ requested he add jellyfish. We did, after all, go to the aquarium specifically to see the jellyfish. He obliged.

Jellyfish tanks!

I love when he does these things. He just reinforces his learning, which is so great.

If you like LEGOS, be sure to check out our trip to the totally redone LEGO store! The new creations are pretty amazing.

Garden Challenge Post #2

2011-04-28T19:58:00.004-05:00

It has already been a month since first post for the Homeschool Village's Garden Challenge, which means it is time for the second post!

I'd love to say we have our garden planned, that we have been out digging the new dirt in, that we are ready to plant, that the weather has cooperated. I'd love to say that the tree has been taken out of the garden. The reality, however, is that our garden looks like this:

Pretty sure the garden is still under there...

Not better. Worse in fact. None of the tree has been cleared out. Much more of the tree has been placed in the garden, to save the grass. So step one is still: Clear out the dead tree. The kids are not really interested in helping with that. Nor, honestly, is hubby. It seems I will need to hire "a tree guy," to come in and take it away. FUN! At least the tree has been cut down completely. No more chain dangerously stuck in it.

We have been thinking about what to plant. I came across a Lowe's ad with yard and garden ideas (I am working on finding a link, I'll update if I do!). There was a "Pizza Garden" in it. Two containers, one with tomato and chives, the other with bell peppers, oregano, and parsley. The kids and I discussed the idea and decided it sounded like fun. So our containers will have those things. I cleared out the remnants of last year's tomatoes, and emptied the dirt into the garden. I think new dirt is a good idea.

I also emptied the plants out of the front half barrel. It is usually planted with flowers Kutey's picks out. We'll probably do the same this year. She doesn't pick them until she sees them at the nursery.

This space is outside my front door, along the garage. It is screaming to be filled with planters for herbs and vegetables. It gets pretty good sun, so I am thinking maybe a few tomatoes here, too. It has the added benefit of being out of the general range of these:

Yep, still gonna need that fence. Kiddo and Daddy have been talking about what they will build.

I haven't been too worried about the garden. Our weather has been cold, cold, cold. We won't plant for a couple more weeks anyway. I also need a weekend when it isn't so rainy so we can actually get into the garden!

The all new LEGO store

2011-04-26T23:53:00.003-05:00

After our outing to the Sea Life Aquarium, we had lunch in the food court above the LEGO Store. We haven't been there for a while and discovered they have redone the WHOLE THING! There are brand new giant LEGO creations. AMAZING. You should have seen Kiddo's face when he saw this:

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to drag him away to get lunch!

The kids spent a good amount of time simply staring over the railing at the LEGO store after they ate. When we finally told them we could head down--thrilled is an understatement.

Kiddo then discovered the Diagon Alley LEGO set in the window of the store. We all meandered over to the Microsoft store and watched the Kinect in action...made me want one even more! Kiddo didn't realize he was alone for a few minutes (I could see him the whole time). It was amusing when he did realize it. He stayed right where he was, and just looked both ways, until I went to get him. We went inside the store.

WOW! Only the bottom six were for consumers to buy from, but still, a TON of bricks!

So fun! Check out the peacock feather on the hat!

Can you believe they have Theseus and the Minotaur?

They have a somewhat better building area, but they took out the track, which is kind of a bummer. Though it was much easier to pull my kids away!

Our Classroom Today--April 26, 2011

2011-04-26T22:14:00.004-05:00

It was a cold, rainy, cold, rainy day. Our Tuesday group has had to be indoors a bit too often as of late, winter is just dragging on and on! This week, though, Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium at the Mall of America is having homeschool days, offering a steep discount. YAY!

This was the best shot I could get!

We are studying cnidaria (R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life Unit 12) and rowing Night of the Moonjellies this week and the aquarium is the only place close by that I know of with jellyfish. Seemed like a perfect match. OK, so I tweaked our schedule a bit to make the two coincide, but I have been tweaking the science schedule all winter to make it work with what we have available!

Peek-a-boo!

The aquarium has been completely redone in the last year or so, and it is much improved. I specifically wanted to see the jellyfish, sea horses, and the octopus. Kiddo specifically wanted to hang out with his friends, so the educational value was a bit lost on him. He willingly touched sea stars and horseshoe crabs, though, so his friends were a positive influence there. Normally he is hesitant to do those things.

Jellyfish fun house!

The room the jellyfish are in has walls of mirrors, which makes it seem like there are even more jellyfish than there actually are. There were many, but not as many as it seems at first glance. Kutey had pinched her fingers prior to this room and was having a hard time calming back down, Kiddo had gotten ahead of me so I couldn't make sure he had taken notice of the things he was supposed to take notice of, and there were a lot of people. I got kiddo to come back and stay closer, Kutey calmed down a little, but the loudness and the people didn't go away. I did make sure we got a good look at the jellyfish. I could have spent literally hours staring at them, if there had been fewer people. And if my kids hadn't wanted to move on. And if we hadn't been with friends. Hours. So peaceful. But we moved on.

We made our way to the seahorses, which were quite cool, but crowded. At one point, I noticed Kiddo start talking to a woman we didn't know. I wasn't worried, I knew why he was talking to her. She looked a bit like me, and was holding a camera like me. He had no idea it wasn't me until I tapped him on the shoulder. Kutey lost me for a second in this room, mistaking the same woman for me, and melted down again. But the sea horses were fun to look at. Really fun.

Then it was on to the coral and anemones, and finally the tube aquarium, where you literally walk directly under the fish, sharks, rays, and turtles. The kids love this part. It used to be the first thing you did, but they have reversed the path and made it come at the end. The Sawfish was particularly popular with our friend N. Kiddo enjoyed the Shark Ray. Kutey liked seeing the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. We read a book about Loggerheads a couple of weeks ago, so it fit right in.

Kutey loved these Koi.

We finished up our trip through the aquarium and headed to lunch. We boarded the elevator with...the woman both Kiddo and Kutey had mistaken for me! She knew they had done it. She thought she had made Kutey cry. I assured her it was just the timing, it wasn't her specifically. She is a homeschooler as well, so we exchanged pleasantries and names. Maybe I'll bump into her again!

A few more fun things we saw:

Almost as much fun as the jellyfish!

My friend T loved these eels. They were quite fun to watch!

Shark eggs. We almost missed these. They were right at the door on the way out, along with a few tiny baby sharks!

Aren't they magical?

A yellow walk

2011-04-25T16:51:00.000-05:00

The weather today was actually spring-like, surprising considering the spring we have had! Kutey wanted to go for a walk. Knowing the forecast for the next couple of days is cold and rainy, I thought it was a fantastic idea!

The very first thing we noticed?

Dandelions! The first of the season. I know many people think they are a pest and spray to get rid of them. They are Kutey's favorite, though. She would happily spend hours picking them. It is one of my favorite images of summer, my little girl frolicking in the dandelions. You can imagine the glee when they were discovered. Kutey wanted to pick them on the spot, but we were literally a block from home, just starting our walk. I didn't want to carry them all the way back. So we picked them on our way home.

A little farther along our path, we saw these:

Daffodils! A sure sign of spring. There are oddly very few of these in our area. They really brighten up the landscape! I admit, I have not planted any in my yard to add to the color. Maybe I should!

Then there were the not so natural yellow objects that crossed our path:

Don't you love when some company comes through and leaves leaflets all over that no one wants? And then they just blow about the neighborhood? Yeah, it's not my favorite, either. This one was a bit too far out in the marshy, swampy area to retrieve.

Not really sure what this is. It looks like a ball, but it had tape wrapped around it, and seemed to be covered in fabric. We left it where it was. But it IS yellow, so there you go.

This lovely bush rounded out our yellow hunt. Beautiful!

In addition to hunting yellow (which was mostly imposed by me), we had to get past numerous grumpy old trolls, some terrifying snow bugs, and even a Yeti! Yep. Our neighborhood is dangerous. These things are around every corner, or at every other driveway, as the case was today. Getting past them requires a great deal of skill and wit. They also have well developed communication. Each time we came across a new troll, he already knew our trick from the previous troll.

We also climbed Mount Everest, which seems to be a lot closer to my house than I thought, and much, MUCH easier to climb than I thought it would be!

I know these walks probably don't appeal to a lot of people. I just feel so lucky to be able to spend this time with my kids. We had so much fun!

The Bakken Museum--Homeschool Science Series

2011-04-20T20:48:00.003-05:00

The April Homeschool Science Series was presented by the Bakken Museum. I admit, we have never been there. It has been on my list of places to go but has been a casualty of the sheer number of opportunities available to us. After seeing the presentation, I am even more inclined to go!

The presentation was on static electricity. Kiddo has been asking me about the shocks he gives Kutey when he helps her unbuckle her seat belt, so the timing was fabulous. Kiddo wasn't sure he wanted to go--until I said that maybe his questions would get answered. Then we were off.

Andre, the presenter, was fabulous. Keep in mind, this is far from a typical "school" group. The age range is infant to probably 13. Not all presenters can handle that range at once. Add to that the fact that he is used to working with the aid of a white board, but this room doesn't have a white board. He did great. He used a lot of volunteers (no shortage of those here!) He explained things very clearly and concisely.

Demonstrations included many things using a Van de Graaff generator. We watched as bits of paper flew out of first one person's hand, then the last person's hand in a string of two people. We watched as hair stood out. We watched as a ball on a rod bounced between two hands. All of these things were explained, quite simply, using the terms attract and repel. By the end, the kids could explain attract and repel, insulator and conductor.

Andre saved the best for last, though. First, we all stood in a circle, creating a circuit, through which a shock was sent. I have seen and heard about this, but I don't remember participating. I made sure the kids participated because, as the presenter noted, it isn't everyday that you get to try this! He noted that he hadn't done it with a group this large, so it might take a couple of tries. It didn't. The first time worked and it was so cool! Kutey's face was priceless. I don't think either kid knew what to expect! The whole room was excited. So he did it again.

The final thing, after that, was an explanation of lightning rods. He had a miniature house with a lightning rod. He placed a bit of Bangsite inside it. First he hit the grounded lightning rod with a shot of electricity taken from the Van de Graaf generator and placed in a Leyden jar. Then he ungrounded it and repeated the process. With a bang of a result. The audience LOVED it. Kiddo LOVED it. You may remember that his favorite Ben Franklin invention was the lightning rod. It was a memorable demonstration.

At the very end, when he took questions, Kiddo raised his hand and asked his question. I was proud of him for remembering his question AND remembering to ask it.

Weekly Wrap-up--April 15, 2011

2011-04-16T08:58:00.003-05:00

Let's get right to it!

Monday was a busy, busy day. We hit The Works in the morning to build cars, then headed to my hometown to welcome our new cousin/niece and play with her big brother. We also had a bit of fun with snakes!

We went to the ballet on Tuesday, then had a picnic and played at the park, digging a giant hole.

Wednesday Kiddo and I had a great day full of good school fun, but Kutey wound up with strep throat.

On Thursday, Kiddo finished his Magic Treehouse Research Guide on the Titanic so we did a bit more exploration on the subject.

We took the day off on Friday. I wasn't feeling particularly well, which makes it harder to teach! Kiddo spent some quality time with his LEGOS, and both kids got to go to run errands with Daddy who stayed home since I wasn't feeling well (we thought it might be strep, and I might need to go to the doctor, which is trickier when you are not feeling well and have to take 2 kids with you.)

Curriculum wise:

We read Chapter 31 in Story of the World, Vol.1 about the Mauryan Empire of India.
We haven't been very good about working on science the last couple of weeks. Supplies have been ordered, however, so we should be able to pick up R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life next week and move forward again, er, backward as the case may be.
Kiddo is working on spelling with words from Explode the Code book 6. Those -er, -ir, -ur words are tricky! He loves to practice by spelling them for me while going up and down the stairs. Book 7 should arrive sometime in the next week or so, and we'll go back to our regular lessons.
In math, Kiddo started learning his times tables. He has been multiplying for a while, but hasn't ever memorized the tables. I remember learning the tables when I was young, I hope he remembers it as fondly as I do!
Kiddo read two Magic Treehouse Research guides this week--American Revolution and Titanic--in addition to other reading.
We measured and sketched leaf buds in our back yard for nature study.
Kiddo is still working through Mango Languages Little Pim. He seems to enjoy it. I'll be looking for a new teaching tool, however, since he will have it done soon!
Kutey read a bit and did Spanish, but getting sick mid-week brought things to an abrupt halt.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Titanic Study and LEGOS

2011-04-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

Kiddo adores Magic Treehouse Research Guides. He likes the fiction books, but he LOVES the Research Guides. They are his current go to read. This week he read the American Revolution and The Titanic. Once he reads them, we go to the website, take the quiz, and he gets a stamp in his passport. He loves that.

I love how he reads these books and feels the need to share what he has learned, "Did you know...?" I hear this many, MANY times when he is reading. I love it!

On Thursday he finished Titanic. As he was announcing his progress (another one of the things that makes reading these fun), I started looking for things to further explore the Titanic. In my search I came across History Channel's Titanic information. So once he read the book, he took the quiz, and we perused the website. I was glad Kutey was upstairs resting, because the information might have been a little intense for her. Kiddo handled it all well, though. The Titanic Interactive section was my favorite. There are survivor stories in that area that added a more in depth touch. Did you know that there was a stewardess, Violet Jessop, who survived the Titanic sinking AND the sinking of the Britannic during World War I? The ships were both part of the White Star Line. Violet continued to work on ships through her life. I am not sure I would have ever wanted to get on another ship after Titanic.

Kiddo also built a mini-Titanic from LEGOS. This was all his idea. He started it on Tuesday, when he first picked up the book. He was intrigued by the double layer hull and the watertight compartments. Once he finished reading, he thought he should build a bigger version, a better version. It hasn't happened yet, but it likely will soon!

More LEGO Creations at My Blessings From Above!

A long Wednesday

2011-04-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was one of those days where things just flowed. Kiddo worked through his math and spelling (Explode the Code 6 words while we wait for book 7 to arrive). He read, he did Spanish, we did history, including quite a bit of extra exploration on the computer. Kutey read another book to me, played a game on Starfall, and did Spanish, too! She sat with us while we did history. Around lunch time, Kutey started complaining that her throat was "dry," kid-speak for sore. She went to lay down without eating lunch. I suspected it was a cold, maybe allergies, nothing more.

Kiddo and I continued our day. He participated in CurrClick's Lego club focused on simple machines. I learned that I don't need to order pieces if we don't have them for the build. I did that this time, but they have yet to arrive. Kiddo managed to do all the builds anyway. He modified them on the fly to fit the pieces he had. Yep, that'll teach me. I have pictures, but since the second meeting hasn't happened yet, I can't post them. Once the last one has happened, I'll post the pictures along with some of the other things we did to extend our learning.

I checked in on Kutey at this point. She was still not herself. I let her watch some TV, and Kiddo and I moved on to nature study. That's right, we managed to get in NATURE STUDY! It helps that we have sort of skipped science since we don't have the correct equipment, or even equipment that will work.

Our nature study for the day consisted of going out an sketching leaf buds on three different trees in our yard. We also measured them and recorded the weather conditions. The idea is to do this every couple of days until the leaves have come out fully. The idea is from Journey North. They have some great stuff there! The weather was cool. As we were sketching our final leaf buds, it started to sprinkle! So we dashed back inside to avoid getting too wet.

When we came in, I went to see Kuety again, and she said she was done with TV. I knew something was up then. She never wants me to turn off the TV. But I did. She wanted me, so I was holding her as she complained that her brain hurt--kid-speak for a headache. Then it happened. She told me she needed to throw up, so we beat it to the bathroom. Afterward I took her temp. 101. Again? Sigh. Somewhere in the back of my head, though, I remembered that vomiting and a sore throat are symptoms of strep. So I called my friend, who is a ped. nurse practitioner. Her response was what I suspected. The upside, if it was strep, antibiotics would make her feel much, MUCH better. We had to wait for hubby to get home, and Kutey was ready for a nap, anyway.

I decided the best plan was to try out Target Clinic. They handle strep tests, and it is less than half the cost of going to the clinic. At this point, it was either there or urgent care not at our clinic. Urgent care is more expensive yet. Given I was 90% certain it was strep, Target seemed the best option. Hubby and Kiddo came with, because Kutey was threatening to throw up again. I needed to sit with her. She made it all the way to the clinic, then threw up all over me, all over her, all over the floor. Sigh. Here is where being at Target was helpful. I sent hubby to buy her clothes. Anything that was cheap and would fit. Once we were checked in, they took us to the exam room, where the nurse practitioner diagnosed strep before the test even came back calling her a classic case. The test came back positive before we left the office. She sent the prescription straight to the pharmacy--another benefit to being at Target. Kutey and I went to the car, Hubby and Kiddo waited for the antibiotics.

We gave her antibiotics when we got home (after another vomiting incident, sigh.), and she went right to sleep. By the time Kutey woke up 12 hours later, one dose of antibiotics in, she was a different kid. So much better. Now, if everyone else just stays healthy...

Our Classroom Today--April 12, 2011

2011-04-12T22:42:00.000-05:00

After the ballet, which we attended with our Tuesday group friends, we went to T's house and changed into play clothes. We ate lunch outside in the glorious weather, then headed to the park to play. It was close to 70 degrees, the sun was shining, perfect weather.

The kids enjoyed the equipment for a bit, built shops in the bushes (I am not exactly sure what they were selling, but there were shops!), and dug in the sand. And when I say they dug in the sand, I mean, they DUG in the sand. They dug a hole so deep they found water. The dug a hole so deep they were falling into it trying to reach the bottom. A big, BIG hole. Kiddo has been looking forward to this kind of digging for a few months. Funny thing, since he doesn't dig holes like this with anyone but his Tuesday friends.

Eventually they added a stream that flowed into the pit, creating a waterfall. Kutey's waterfall. She loves waterfalls. Very sweet and thoughtful.

While all this fun was happening, the moms were doing our best sloth impressions. We got to sit on the blanket and relax and chat. Tuesday's are great from bringing down the stress level. Even if I arrive tense, by the time the day is through, I feel much better. These women are good for my soul.

The James Sewell Ballet

2011-04-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

Living in a major metropolitan area has many advantages. The arts opportunities are certainly one of the greatest. Having been to 2 orchestra concerts and 2 plays, I was thrilled when the opportunity to see a ballet came up once again. We went last year, and the performance and experience were worth far more than the $2 per ticket admission price. Because seating is general admission, we arrived half an hour before the show was to start. We were seated in the second row, and there was virtually no one in the front row. We were close enough to see their feet. Sometimes it pays to be early!

The James Sewell Ballet Company is wonderful. They put on a fantastic performance, but that is not all there is to love about these performances. James Sewell, the co-founder of the company, along with Penny, one of the dancers, take time throughout the performance to explain various things. Penny, for example, talked about the dancers day. She explained various positions and how they use the barre. Sally, another of the dancers and the co-founder, demonstrated the moves as Penny explained. So great! James Sewell talked about the dances, the meanings, and gave ideas of things to look for within the choreography. He also talked about partnering, and had Cory and Eve demonstrate. Then they brought 8 lucky kids on stage to try partnering. Again, great for the kids.

The final dance was rather interesting. It started with shadow puppets. Then the dancers were shadows. Eventually they moved in front of the screens (which were large sheets of white silk), and finished the dance there. This particular piece was performed to a set of Indonesian bells/percussion. I missed the name of them, sadly. At the school performances they used a recording, which is sad but understandable. But the actual instrument was there on stage, and we got a glimpse of it.

When the performance is over, the dancers all come out on stage to answer questions. They first, however, introduce themselves, tell where they are from, when they started dancing, and how long they have been dancing/how old they are now. Sally has been dancing for 40 years. 40! That floored me. It was nice to hear that some of them had been slightly older when they started dancing--James Sewell was 15. It isn't something you have to do from the time you are 3, though there were those dancers represented, too.

We had a great time at the ballet. Kiddo said he didn't enjoy it, but I think he did! Kutey loved it. I hope they continue to offer these wonderful performances and we can continue to attend!

Random bits and bobs and snakes

2011-04-11T22:25:00.004-05:00

We had a busy day today, and the kids were troopers.

We started at The Works, making cars. I'll do a detailed post later, but it was fun! None of our friends were there, which was too bad, but we still had a good time!

While we were there, my sister J called to announce the birth of my sister C's baby! We knew it was today (scheduled c-section), but they didn't know what they were having. A little girl, so sweet! That was our plan for the rest of the day, visit the new baby and then spend some time with the baby's big brother. The weather was perfect for outdoor play! That doesn't mean the kids wanted to play outside...

After the visit to the baby, we followed J back to her house. We were a little behind her. When we arrived at her house, she and C (my nephew) were standing outside the garage looking at the floor by the door. Hmmm. I got out of the car and was greeted with "thank goodness!" along with pointing. Snakes. 2 of them. Just little garter snakes, but still snakes. J doesn't like snakes. A couple of years ago I picked one up while we were camping, so apparently I am the snake woman. These two just sat there. At first I thought they were dead, so I had J get a shovel. I touched the first one, and it move a bit, so it wasn't dead. So I grabbed it by the tail, nearly hit C in the face with it (I didn't know he was behind me), and carried it off to the wilds of the yard. The second snake was trickier. It was stuck. Seriously stuck. It had put its head through a hole in the track for the garage door. It got halfway through, but that was it. I WISH I had taken a picture. I am certain I will never see that again. I gave a little tug at its tail, but nothing. The snake went all rigid for a second, with some weird bends in its body, but it didn't move. So I grabbed gently a little higher up. It took some effort, but eventually I got it free. I did scrape a bit of skin off the belly, but since snakes shed their skin, hubby assured me it was probably fine. It likely would have died if I hadn't intervened, so I guess a little skin loss isn't the worst thing.

I don't like snakes. Glad to know I can handle them if I have to.

This is one of those things that I do because I feel it is important for my kids to see me not showing fear. Garter snakes are not harmful. They will bite, but they aren't dangerous to humans. I also want my kids to see what is appropriate, and what isn't. We didn't kill the snakes. We set them free some distance from the house. I also didn't approach the snakes without knowing what they were and what was going on. Teachable, right?

Cars at the Works

2011-04-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

The project at The Works this month was cars. The focus was on the engineering process, complete with restrictions on supplies and time. Basically, we were given supplies and had to build a car. Kiddo regularly builds a K'nex car to run on the ramp at The Works, so building a car was nothing new. The materials, however, were entirely new.

The wheels are the bottoms of cups, fastened with tacks to a dowel fed through a drinking straw. Kiddo cut his wheels out by himself, which is only remarkable because he generally doesn't like to cut things like that. He is a perfectionist (like his mom), and his cutting skills rarely live up to his ideals. It is easier for him to deal with the imperfections if they are someone else's. Kiddo needed very little assistance from me. Hammering the tacks into the dowel was the only place I assisted. Kutey had the design of her car (on the left) completely figured out, so I was simply the labor.

Kiddo had to take his car apart and rebuild it when we got to the ramp room--it veered. So we spent most of our time with the cars. Kiddo spent a little time building with K'Nex, Kutey and I programmed the Bee-Bot to go through the maze we created, and we all worked together to make the gears work. We had some success in all of the endeavours, which has not always been the case!

Weekly Wrap-up--April 8, 2011

2011-04-10T19:36:00.007-05:00

Another week come and gone! This version is currently pictureless. Lazy right now!

Monday was one of the days I watch three extra kids. Tricky days. We went for a walk and heard the first frogs of the spring!

Tuesday was homeschool group day. We hit the zoo to see the farm, which just opened for the season. We also got to see the baby dolphin in an enrichment session.

We spent the day at home Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Daddy had the afternoon off on Wednesday, so I could go to an appointment, which was a special treat for the kids. The weather was beautiful so they went to the park again.

Friday we watched and listened to the birds all afternoon. We even got to see some ducks on the tiny pond we can see from our yard. It was a great lesson in the camouflage of animals. The female mallard was very well hidden in the brown grass and tree branches. She had to move for us to see her!

We also met our new neighbors on Friday! They are coming from New Orleans and have one little girl, a nine-month-old! I am a terrible introvert. Should I do something to welcome them to the neighborhood? Ideas?

Curriculum wise:

Kiddo is still waiting for Explode the Code 7 to come in (I have to order it...), so instead of moving forward, we have been reviewing the rules from book 6 and practicing them as spelling words. I give him a word to spell, if he gets it right he comes down a step, wrong and we review why it is wrong, and he stays on the step or goes back one--depending on when in the list it falls. Gives my kinetic kid a bit more movement in his learning.
Kiddo is still doing multiplication and division in math. We'll be here for a while, we start the times tables next week. We are enjoying Khan Academy for math, too.
We read Chapter 30 in Story of the World, Vol. 1, about the Aryans of India and Siddhartha the Buddha. No special activities this week, just the chapter and the map work.
We read a little about fish for Unit 20 of R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, and continued to study mammals. I am waiting for supplies, namely thermometers, so we can move on with some labs. Now that the weather is improving, our science study will be a little easier. I am hoping we can go back to invertebrates and actually get through the labs!
Kutey did more reading. We have moved into silent e words, but we are still focusing mostly on the short-vowel words. I have also been reading to her quite a bit. Her current favorites are "the pink books." Yes, really. Pinkalicious, The Very Fairy Princess (which I still love!), Princess and Fairy, and A is for Annabelle. You have to read them all, though. One pink book is never enough!
I went through the Mystery Class clues this week, but Kiddo and I haven't gotten around to discussing them.
We have also been enjoying some nature study. The birds are really coming back, the squirrels are awake, and the frogs are reappearing. All of that makes it the perfect time to revisit adding nature study more consistently!

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

LEGO Cars

2011-04-07T13:32:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we visited some friends who live a couple of hours away from us. I have known E forever. He and his wife K have two children--a son 2 years younger than Kiddo and a daughter 2 years younger than Kutey. So fun.

When we arrived, E and his son B had been building with LEGOS. Yep, LEGOS. I knew kiddo would be thrilled. The boys immediately set off to build. At the end of the day, they set their creations down on a ledge and I made a mental note to get the camera and snap a picture. Only I missed it and they were gone before I got the picture in the morning.

So when they set the creations down for lunch, I grabbed the camera. I wasn't going to miss it twice!

This one is a car that can go on water and land.

This one is a car with a propeller. I can't remember what was special about it.

This one is a car that could also fly.

It seems that Kiddo did most of the building. Being 2 years older means likely 2 years more LEGO experience. That and the sheer quantity of LEGOS that live in our house. B was learning a TON from Kiddo. It was so fun to see Kiddo building with his friend!

There's even more fun at the LEGO Mania linky party over at the Joys of Home Educating!

Joy is...

2011-04-07T11:06:00.001-05:00

Listening to Kiddo read Harry Potter to his little sister.

Book Sharing Monday--Poetry Speaks to Children

2011-04-06T20:21:00.003-05:00

April is National Poetry Month. What better time to dig out the poetry books! It is good to be reminded to pull them out periodically; sometimes they get forgotten. This one was especially forgotten! It was new for Christmas, but this is the first we have read from it since then.

Poetry Speaks to Children is a compilation of a variety of poems by a variety of authors from contemporary to classic. There are a variety of forms, topics, and styles represented, making it a great jumping off book for talking about such things, should you desire. We are mostly just into reading the different poems at this point.

And some of the poems in this book are just plain fun. The book also comes with a CD with readings of some of the poems. Some are read by the authors, some not. We haven't broken out the CD yet, maybe later this week. It is a nice option to have, though. I love hearing authors read their own works; it gives you a peek into their perspective on the work.

Our Classroom Today--April 5, 2011

2011-04-05T22:38:00.000-05:00

The weather. is finally. FINALLY. improving.

Today we hit the zoo with our Tuesday friends. We started the day inside at the aquarium, watching the turtle swim, the rays eat, and the dolphins. We lucked into seeing an enrichment session with the dolphins. The little one is getting really big! She even knows a few tricks. There are currently only 2 adult dolphins at the zoo, as another one passed away in February. This was the first I realized this.

After the dolphins, we headed to lunch watching the monkeys. Then it was outside. And oh, how the kids loved it! Running, running, running. There could have been no animals on the entire path, they wouldn't have minded. We stopped for a bit at the park, further evidence that it was only being outside that mattered! Then we hit the farm, which has just opened for the season. Baby pigs, baby cows, lots of goats. There was more time spent playing in the grass, too.

We hoped to sneak a peek at the baby camel on our way out, but they were already off exhibit for the night. Yes, that is how long we were there. The zoo was officially closed, and we were just making our way out. Kiddo, Kutey and I were lucky enough to be standing on the path right next to the fence when they let the Wild Asian Horses through. Very cool! And fun to see some of the inner workings of the zoo!

We ran to the library on our way home, just to pick up a couple of holds. The kids were exhausted! But it was another fantastic day.

Hip Homeschool Hop Link-up

2011-04-05T19:39:00.003-05:00

It's Hip Homeschool Hop time again!

Last week we started planning our garden and went on a nature walk. Kiddo built a LEGO treehouse, too. You can read our weekly wrap-up, if you want the full summary. Take a look around!

Monday, Monday

2011-04-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of Mondays a month, I watch a friends three children. On those days, very little "school" gets done. I tried in the beginning, but it just never worked out. It is complicated by the fact that the other children use entirely different curriculum and methods. After a couple of failed attempts, it just made mre sense to modify our day on those Mondays. Kiddo still does reading and math, as does the 8-year-old from the other family. Sometimes I read aloud from a history book, but mostly we don't. Kiddo usually also does an enrichment activity of some sort or another--Logic Links, Kidoku, tangrams, Build-it Cards, etc. Often S, the 8-year-old, wants to join in, too.

With the warmer weather we have been having, the snow is melting and outdoor fun can be had. The melting brings mud, though. I can handle one muddy kid. I can handle 2 muddy kids. The thought of 5 muddy kids makes me shudder. Sending them out to play was not an option. So we went for a walk instead. I think it was the lesser of the evils, but I can't be sure...

It was good to get the kids out and running. And they did run! We live about 3 blocks from a park, if you go the short way. We never go the short way, though. The long way is twice as far. We went the long way, played at the park for 15 minutes or so, then came back the short way. The two big kids did fine, not problem with the walking. Kutey did fine, she was determined to keep up with the big kids. The two younger boys, though, whined most of the way back. If we go again in the future (and that is an if, it was a lot of work to keep track of all 5 kids), we will go the short way there and back.

While we were at the park, we stopped and listened. Kiddo identified the song of the Red-Winged Blackbird. They were back! We only heard one, but better than none! We also heard frogs! So exciting! It is truly spring! I wished I could sit and listen longer. If it had been just my kids we would have. The others were a bit more impatient however, and wanted to get going. So we went. And the whining began. I'll have to think hard about whether or not the walk is worth it with all 5 kids...

Weekly Wrap-up--April 1, 2011

2011-04-01T13:59:00.004-05:00

I had a revelation this week. As a homeschooler, I get more done when we are a) mostly healthy, and b) HOME! I know, I kinda should know that already. Apparently I need reminding occasionally! We got a ton done this week, but we had no outside activities. It made for a very relaxed, productive, fun week!

Kiddo finished his last lesson in Explode the Code 6 on Monday. I STILL haven't ordered 7. We are going to spend a bit more time focused on spelling the words in the lessons before we move forward. We are studying mammals in science, but I am blocking the lab again, so we started watching BBC's The Life of Mammals on Netflix. I am pretty sure they are learning more by watching the video than the lab would teach them! We'll get to the lab once I finally locate and acquire thermometers. We need them for the fish labs, too.

We missed our Tuesday group this week, because Kutey had a cold and I had sinusitis and reactive airways. Neither of us is terribly ill, but neither of us felt like going out, either. So we stayed home, watched more mammals, and rested.

By Wednesday, Kiddo was literally bouncing off the walls and furniture, so we went on a nature walk, just to get some fresh air. We also worked on our mystery class information and moved into division in math, at Kiddo's request.

Thursday we spent the day on a "boat." So much fun! We also did our regular school work and started contemplating our garden, thanks to The Homeschool Village's Garden Challenge.

Today (Friday) Kiddo has been having a "life skills day," in which he learned how to start the washing machine. He is finally tall enough to reach the knobs (with a stool). That will definitely help me in the future! Kutey is still feeling a bit under the weather, so she and I picked out 15 or so books to read snuggled on the couch. Lots of her favorites. We currently have all three computers running: Kutey is working on a pre-k/kindergarten program, Kiddo is doing math at Khan Academy, and I am here, blogging.

In curriculum:

Kiddo is still doing great in Math. He loves it and seems to be grasping the material. What a change from fall! In addition to Singapore, we started using Khan Academy. Kiddo loves it! I'll be adding a post about it in the near future.
Kiddo finished up Explode the Code 6, way ahead of schedule. We'll be doing a bit of review before we move to book 7 (especially since I don't have it yet!)
We read chapter 29 in Story of the World, Vol. 1, about the Punic Wars. We read and learned lot more about Rome, too.
We are still on Unit 24 in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life. We have been watching the BBC's The Life of Mammals on Netflix, an episode at a time. The kids love it!
Both kids are using Mango Languages Little Pim to start learning Spanish. We are able to access this program for free through our library, making it economical, too! The kids are actually starting to be able to use some of the words!
Kutey is still using Starfall for reading, but this week we also read short vowel books out of the Now I'm Reading Animal Antics. I bought the set for $1 at the thrift shop when Kiddo was learning to read. It is always fun to have them read "books" at this stage.
We worked on numbers this week using number cards. Kutey wasn't up to jumping around the cards, so we did number "shouting" instead.
We started talking about our garden and will be using some of the Garden Preschool Pack from Homeschool Creations next week.
We are learning more and more geography through Mystery Class. I can see this being something we have more and more fun with in the years to come.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

A day on a boat

2011-03-31T17:45:00.003-05:00

It all started with a simple statement. "Kutey and I are pretending we are on a boat." Really, I wasn't ready to get out of my cozy bed, and Kutey had come in to cuddle. She has a cold, so resting longer seemed good. Kiddo, however, wanted to be up! That is until I said that. Suddenly, he had his own dingy (a clothes basket) fastened to the side of our boat. We had hyper-speed, which Kutey loved to use. After several stints at hyper-speed, it became clear that we needed provisions. We docked the boat so Kutey and Kiddo could disembark and gather our supplies. Dishes, food (toy), tools, menus (to select our food, cause we are on a boat!), books, extra blankets, and extra pillows.

Once that was all gathered, it was time for real food. So we docked the boat again and disembarked for breakfast. Kutey ate almost nothing, she was WAY too excited to get back on the "boat."

Back on the boat, there were a few stops, due to seasickness, but mostly we kept floating along. Sometimes at hyper-speed, other times not. Originally, we were on the Mississippi River, but it became clear, by the variety of flora and fauna we were seeing, that we were on some other very special river. We saw a platypus, a river dolphin, a rhinoceros, a hippo, a shark, a whale, a giraffe, a variety of birds, and all sorts of plants including a weeping willow that was huge! It took forever to get under it.

We also read books on a variety of topics. The most pertinent to our voyage however, was Sea Clocks by Louise Borden. It was interesting. Held Kiddo's interest, but not Kutey's. She made us "lunch" while I read. After our boat "lunch," which included both real and less real food, mommy took a nap while the kids steered the ship. YAY!

It was a fun, peaceful morning. I sometimes need to be reminded that just playing can be so much fun.

LEGO tree house

2011-03-31T16:02:00.004-05:00

I wanted to participate in the LEGO Creation Thursday link-up over at My Blessing From Above. I have thought about doing something similar, but once I found hers, I decided it is less hassle to just link-up.

The problem is, Kiddo has been building lots, but he takes things apart as fast as he builds! Always on to the next idea, the next thought. While we have literally thousands of LEGOS, it always seems he needs the pieces from his current creation for the next. So I had no pictures to post. That is until this afternoon, when he put together this "treehouse."

There is a whole story that goes along with it. The skeleton and the girl are villains with super powers, that is about all I got out of his fast talking.

I thought it was very cool that he put a hole in the platform so the mini-figs could get to it. I also love the treasure at the top. Apparently that is what the villains were after.

Kiddo, as I said, is always building. To see some of the other things he has built (that lasted long enough for me to get photos!), click here!

Garden Challenge Post #1

2011-03-31T10:09:00.007-05:00

When I first read about The Homeschool Village's Garden Challenge, my first reaction was to laugh. It starts today. March 31. HA! Here in MN, there is no chance of planting outside for a minimum of 6 more weeks. Mid-May is much more realistic. Add to that the fact that my garden looks like this:

Yeah, not ready for garden season. That tree fell down in November, in the first heavy wet snow we had. It had a Y the center of which seems to have rotted somehow. The heavy wet snow was enough to pull the two sides apart. Hubby cleared the part that was in the neighbor's yard while it was snowing, but eventually the chain broke on his chainsaw, and, well, that is where it has been since November. Once the snow melted enough, he picked the branches up off the grass and threw them in the garden. Yep, right into my garden. Sigh.

See the chain, stuck right in the tree?

So, the first part of our garden plan is "clear out dead tree." After that, we'll need to do some maintenance on the garden soil. Truthfully, we need to get soil. What is in that garden has been terrible for growing anything the last several years. So in all likelihood we'll have to buy some organic compost and topsoil. Lots of organic compost and topsoil.

The kids first comment about it being garden planning time was, "We need a bigger fence, to keep out the deer!" They are right, the last few gardens we have planted have yielded nothing for us. The deer either ate the vegetables before they were ready, ate the blossoms, or simply ate the plants. Kutey was particularly devastated last year when the deer ate her sunflowers before they even approached blooming. Sigh. So a fence. To keep out the deer. Step 3.

This bed won't have much planted in it. It gets too much shade.

Then, and only then, can we plant. We have 2 8 x 8 gardens. I only plan to plant one of them. the other one gets little sun because I have allowed a cottonwood tree to grow up in it. There are also 2 lilac bushes, placed in the garden "until we figure out where to put them," 7 or 8 years ago, which are now 4+ feet tall. The sunflowers go on the sunny edge of that bed.

In the other 8x8 bed, tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and perhaps squash. Kutey would like carrots, so we'll see. Maybe some green onions. I also have 2 containers that I plant cherry tomatoes in, and hope to add another planter. If I manage that, I'll plant some herbs. Not thyme. I have enough thyme. It actually grows in my grass, believe it or not. The one thing that the garden has been able to support and the deer don't eat. But neither do we!

I have never done "square foot gardening," but this year that is sort of what the plan is. I found this article useful. We'll see if we actually end up with anything like that!

Since it will be a while before we can plant anything in our garden, we are having some fun with this:

I created a grid that matches our garden, 8 x 8, and then made 1 x 1 squares with vegetables on them. The idea is to make the garden the way we want it on the paper. That way, once we are ready to plant, we'll have it all figured out, right?

Nature walking

2011-03-30T21:45:00.002-05:00

Since the weather is slowly but steadily improving, I decided it was time to start walking again, looking for signs of spring. Kiddo and I have done walks like this for years. Kutey only remembers doing it last year. She has a cold, so I wasn't sure a walk was the best plan. Kiddo, however, needed to get out and get moving. He has been bouncing (somewhat literally) off the walls this week. So we determined we would go for a walk, but that we would take a route that allows for a shorter walk or a longer walk.

We started out, listening to the birds as we walked. We heard one call we didn't recognize, nor could we see the bird. First thing to look up when we get home. Kutey ran for about 2 blocks, which made me think perhaps she was feeling better than I thought! But then she hit a wall. Her leg hurt (stop running!), she was tired (walking isn't as hard as running), her hair wa staticy and in her face (if you would ever let me put something in it, this wouldn't be a problem!) and she started whining. At this point, we had two choices, turn around and walk home, or continue on. It was only a smidge closer to turn around and go home. So we kept walking.

Kiddo noticed a crow, and we commented on how big it was. Since we have studied birds in science, though, we knew it likely wasn't heavy. And since we studied weight in math, we decided to guess how much it weighed, to be checked when we got home. Second thing to look up when we get home. Our guess? Less than 2 pounds. By then we had reached the park (this is where Kutey truly began whining and I made the choice to keep walking).

Two weeks ago when we walked through the park, we saw red-winged blackbirds. Early arrivals getting the best spots for their nests, we thought. It seems, however, that they did not stick around. We saw no red-winged blackbirds this time. I told the kids to listen for them, too, because we might not see them. Kiddo couldn't remember what they sounded like, though. Third thing to look up when we get home.

Kutey paused in her whining long enough to do some more running with Kiddo, then resumed as we turned the corner to leave the park. I was able to distract her by spotting a ROBIN! We have only seen a few, they are just starting to really arrive here, so it is very exciting every time we see one. Last year by this time we had seen flocks and flocks of them. We had also seen flocks of cedar waxwings, which we haven't this year. We watched the robin as it hopped about in the grass. I told the kids I guessed it was a male, because they come back first. But we have never really looked at the markings of female versus male robins. Fourth thing to look up when we get home.

It is about three blocks from this point home, but there are two routs you can go. One is the hypotenuse of a triangle, the other is the opposing sides of the triangle. Kiddo likes the latter, particularly now because there is a lake covering part of the sidewalk and he likes the challenge of getting around it. Kutey, however, just needed to get home. So she and I went the short way and Kiddo went the long way. We met at the other corner. Kiddo loved the independence of walking 2 blocks by himself, since normally our walks are together. He had lots of sites to report from those two blocks!

We (finally, according to Kutey) made it home. In spite of the whining, it was a wonderful walk, full of things for us to research further.

Book Sharing Monday--The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus

2011-03-29T12:18:00.004-05:00

This book is one recommended in Story of the World, Vol. 1. I requested it from the library but it took the slow train to get there, so we read it a little late. It is the book on which we based our Greek gods and goddess family tree. It is a good introduction to the Greek gods and goddesses, from Gaea and Uranus on to Zeus. There is a brief introduction and history, followed by the basic story of each god or goddess.

It turns out, Kutey LOVES this book. She has adopted it. She has carried it around the house with her. She has paged through it many, MANY times. It is so popular, I have added it to my list of books to consider purchasing. Kutey has a plan to make puppets of each of the gods and goddesses in the book, so she can do puppet shows with them. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Have you checked out Book Sharing Monday at Canadian Home Learning? You should!

Hip Homeschool Hop Link-up

2011-03-29T10:46:00.003-05:00

I'm joining the Hip Homeschool Hop this week for the first time. Since hopefully that means I will have a few more homeschoolers reading my blog this week, I thought I would link back to a few previous posts.

My weekly wrap-ups. I just started doing this in January. I really like how it makes me think about what we have accomplished in the past week.

A recent post of my favorite questions and statements. I wrote this after a conversation with a high school classmate who I had not seen in quite a while.

LEGOS are big around here; Kiddo loves to build. Often he creates things directly out of our learning.

I'm looking forward to hopping along the blogs!

Weekly Wrap-up--March 24, 2011

2011-03-27T20:33:00.003-05:00

We had a productive, positive week! If we didn't school year-round, I would likely be lamenting the fact that we seem to have hit our stride now, as we are approaching APRIL, but since we school year-round, it makes little difference.

Monday was our own day. We did a lot of school work, went for a walk, and started listening to the music for the concert later in the week. We also participated in CurrClick's LEGO Club. I haven't posted about that yet, maybe once I sort out my feelings and thoughts on it. The weather was pleasant, there was only a little whining about school work, and we accomplished almost everything we needed to!

Tuesday was our homeschool group. Have I mentioned I love this group? It is a great fit for us. This week in addition to the kids social time and wonderful conversation with the other moms, I got a cooking lesson. We made communal stir fry--everyone brings some thing to contribute to the meal. It makes it much easier to get going in the morning. I *think* I could now cook a whole chicken, and make *most* of a stir-fry entree. The sauce is a bit sketchy, still.

It snowed on Wednesday, making me very glad we had no where to be. Kiddo has been very much a self-starter lately, getting his chores done, breakfast eaten, and school started often before I get downstairs in the morning! It is immensely helpful in getting our day off to a positive start. We worked through math, reading, Explode the Code, listened to the music for the concert on Thursday and talked a bit about it, made fish puppets to take to the concert, and did Spanish on the computer. We finally got caught up on Mystery Class, too! After he finished much of his work, Kiddo went out and shoveled the driveway. It was heavy, wet snow, making the shoveling much more difficult. Still, he shoveled the whole thing himself! He even turned down the offer of help from the neighbor. I think he loves the sense of accomplishment.

Thursday was filled with our trip to Orchestra hall, followed by lunch at IKEA, then on to the zoo for a science lab. WHEW! That tired everyone out.

Friday was just a normal day. The kids were motivated to work through all of their school work in order to start getting ready for a weekend trip to friends. The trip was canceled at the last minute, unfortunately, due to illness at our friends. We read about Rome--specifically the Roman gods and goddesses and Roman construction--in Story of the World. Kiddo and Kutey love learning about the gods and goddesses, so I was excited about this chapter. Of course, just when you think you know what direction things are going to go...turns out the construction was even MORE interesting than the gods. I should have known.

In curriculum:

Kiddo is flying through Explode the Code Book 6. He'll finish it up this week. Probably should have ordered the next book...We added in a bit of extra spelling practice using the words in the lessons, hopping up and down the stairs as we spelled.
Math is going fabulously. Kiddo spent less time on measuring length and weight than I scheduled, putting him ahead of schedule here, too.
We read Chapter 28: The Roman Empire in Story of the World, Vol. 1.
We started the unit on mammals in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life. We took a trip to the zoo for the lab. We still have 1 lab to do, hopefully this week. We also have a few extra books to read.
We finally got caught up with Mystery Class, only to fall behind again on Friday. Sigh. I know this is one of those things that will be easier after we have done it once. We are enjoying it, there is just a learning curve.
Kutey continued with Starfall, which she LOVES. She also did some work with patterns and weaving. We spent some time on number recognition, too, using our floor heart numbers from Valentine's Day.
We did an art project--fish puppets, which was quite fun.
We learned a bit about Handel and listened to music centered on the theme of water.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

A purposeful trip to the zoo

2011-03-24T23:40:00.000-05:00

After our outing to Orchestra Hall this morning, we at lunch at one of the kids favorite restaurnauts (that is not a misspelling. That is what they call them.) IKEA. Yes, really. IKEA. They love the meatballs. I love the bright, open cafeteria at IKEA. Who says homeschoolers don't eat in cafeterias?

After that, we went to the Zoo. Yes, a full day, but we had a lab to do for R.E.A.L. Science that involved going to the Zoo. I figured half the day was shot with the trip downtown for the concert (half hour there, 2 hours there, half hour home, three hours, the better part of the morning), we likely wouldn't get much done the rest of the day anyway, so might as well make it productive somehow. So to the zoo it was.

We started learning about mammals this week. The first lab in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey has to do with descriptive names of animals. Our mission was to find as many animals with descriptive names as possible. We got bonus points if it was a mammal, and mega bonus points if we caught a mammal doing what only mammals can do, nursing young. Before we even started, Kiddo went through the list of mammals he knew had babies currently at the zoo--the snow monkey, the dolphin, and the other monkey (De Brazza's Monkey). He was determined to get the bonus points. Guess going to the zoo a zillion times this winter has benefits.

We only went through the tropics trail and the aquarium, we were exhausted by then. But we were able to find 29 animals with descriptive names--Red-ruffed Lemurs, Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Pipefish, Leafy Sea Dragons, and Asian Forest Tortoises, to name a few.

Love the Leafy Sea Dragons.

The De Brazza's Monkey isn't far into the Tropics Trail, so it was the first baby mammal we came across. The baby monkey is getting bigger, so it wasn't just clinging to the mother like it had been the past few times we saw it. It was fun to see the baby out exploring, but Kiddo REALLY wanted to see a baby nursing. Given that the other babies we might see are older, we waited. And waited. And waited. And finally. FINALLY! We saw it. Good thing, too, since we didn't see any of the other babies we thought we might.

Finally, you can see just how different the baby looks! That is an older sibling. The baby is starting to get a beard, like the adults, but is still a very different color.

Only 17 of the 29 descriptive names we found were mammals, which gave us the opportunity to figure out what they were given what we have learned.

Given it is Spring Break time for public schools, the zoo was a little crowded. We got a couple of odd looks when we were filling out forms for the lab, but it didn't curb the kids enthusiasm at all. R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey really is a fun curriculum, if I can just get myself geared up to actually do the labs!

Our zoo has a great deal of construction happening at our zoo, which is great. We'll soon have penguins, very exciting. We will also have a new reptile and amphibian area, which the kids are really looking forward to. In the meantime, we have construction. And exhibits like this:

How would you classify this animal? (I got a LOT of strange looks from people as I took this picture--crazy lady taking pictures of a ladder?)

Oh, and remember the upside down fish? It was back.

Water Music

2011-03-24T22:25:00.000-05:00

This morning we had the pleasure of attending another Young People's Concert at Orchestra Hall. These performances are geared toward students and school groups, last about an hour, and feature pieces of music on a theme. Some piece are well known, others not so well known. The orchestra's education department puts together an entire curriculum, telling a bit about the composer, some background on the composition, and lots of teaching ideas for every piece in the performance. They also provide recordings of the music so you can listen and talk about the pieces before you attend the concert. So fabulous.

This performance was entitled "Water Music", so all of the pieces centered on water themes. The pieces were:

“Allegro” from The Water Music Suite #2 George Frederich Handel arr. Harty
“Father of Waters” from Mississippi Suite Ferde Grofé
Aqua Steve Heitzeg
On the Beautiful Blue Danube waltzes excerpts Johann Strauss, Jr.
“Oceana” La Mer by Claude Debussy

As an added bonus, Black Label Movement, a local dance company, performed during the performance of La Mer. The adults in our group were rather impressed with the length of the piece they performed. To set the tone, when they entered the auditorium, they carried in several large balloons covered in fabrics made to look like underwater creatures. They were very cool.

The conductor, Courtney Lewis, is superb. He is young and does a little bit of explaining about each piece. He also seems to genuinely enjoy what he is doing. That makes a difference in the kids enjoyment of the concert. From what I have read, he is a talented conductor. I am not an orchestra musician, however, so I cannot attest to that. He seems great!

The kids enjoyed the concert, but didn't love it as much as they did the one in December. Kiddo couldn't name a favorite thing. Kutey liked the dancers best. I enjoyed the whole concert. My only disappointment was that the information sent out before the concert encouraged us to create and bring a sea creature stick puppet, which we did. But they didn't include them in the performance in any way. We enjoyed making ours, so it wasn't a huge loss, but I think the kids would have enjoyed some sort of inclusion of their puppets in the show, as I was led to believe there would be.

That aside, however, it was a fantastic performance. We'll be attending another concert in May, and I am already looking forward to it.

Our Classroom Today--March 22, 2011

2011-03-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

Our Tuesday group is only four families big. But it is the perfect size, as far as I am concerned. 4 families means 8 kids, ages not quite 2 to almost 8. It also means a great deal of energy. Since our philosophy is opposed to squelching that all the time, we have a limited number of places we can go in the winter. Thankfully, we are small enough that meeting at our homes is possible. No one has a large home. But they are all still big enough for all of us to gather. The added benefit? We can cook lunch together. We all contribute, but it is much easier than trying to figure out what to pack in a lunch in the morning (I don't know how public school parents do it every day!)

So today, we met at T's house. For the last two weeks, you may remember, the kids have been putting on performances. It was clear last week that performances may have run their course. The kids were having a bit of trouble with the "directing." Mostly it seemed that they weren't quite sure how to let each person direct. They kind of all wanted to be the director, not unusual, but it was causing a bit of conflict.

Such was the case today. There was conflict. So we gently steered them another direction. It resulted in many pictures being drawn. They had a shop, of some sort, too. The also took orders for things from the moms, drew the picture, then and and "sold" it to us in exchange for play money. Very fun.

While they kids were doing this, we were making stir-fry. Well, T was making stir-fry, C and O were helping, and I was watching, since I don't cook. But I learned how to cook a whole chicken, pick it for stir-fry, stir-fry it with vegetables and sauce (though that part is still a bit daunting to me...), and make stock from the remains of the chicken. The stir-fry was delicious. And I could, maybe, make it. Productive day!

Plus, Kiddo drew this very fun picture of Quidditch from Harry Potter.

Love it!

I forgot

2011-03-22T09:03:00.000-05:00

When we first started our homeschooling journey, two and a half years ago, one of the things we did was a daily walk. Sometimes it was just around the triangle--a three block area near our house. Other times it was through our park, and others it was out and about somewhere. But we tried to walk daily. We stopped when the weather turned foul, as it does here in Minnesota. We never really got back into the habit.

Yesterday was very nice, so we went for a walk. It was the second walk we have been on in as many weeks, what with the weather improving and all. And I was reminded of the simple joy I found in those walks. We didn't go far, a little over a mile and a half, but it was beautiful. The fresh air was wonderful. The kids running and smiling and laughing was bliss. I forgot. I forgot how nice a daily walk can be. I need to try to remember. It did wonders for my attitude!

(Of course, today the weather was absolutely foul. There was no walk today.)

Book Sharing Monday--The Very Fairy Princess

2011-03-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

If you have read the sidebar notes about my kids, you will completely understand where this book fits into our world.

The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. I happened upon it one day while I was looking for something else and knew Kutey needed it. A pink fairy princess, the ultimate. To top it off, it is a lovely story about a little girl who pretends to be a princess and how things like scabby knees are princess-like. I love the message.

OK, so it does a little bit of reinforcing the pink adoration that exists in my home. The story isn't just about pink, though. Besides, with or without the book, Kutey is going to love pink.

See more books at Canadian Home Learning's Book Sharing Monday.

Weekly Wrap-up--March 18, 2011

2011-03-18T22:38:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful, busy week!

My Monday kids were here on Monday, which always throws a bit of a wrinkle into our school day. They played a lot of Harry Potter, which Kiddo adored, but there were bumps along the way, disputes, and one of the boys just wanted his mommy and daddy, all afternoon. It can be a bit draining. Not much school work was completed, though I finished up a few things for St. Patrick's Day later in the week.

Tuesday we planned to have a party with our Tuesday group, so I lugged things along. The kids had other plans, however. Much fun was had by all! I love our Tuesday group!

We accomplished quite a bit on Wednesday, even making it to the Homeschool Science Series at a local library. Mad Science proved to be entertaining again! We also finished up our science unit on amphibians, even without the exactly correct supplies.

Thursday was a day full of St. Patrick's Day! We read books, did a craft, ate green food and Irish food, and played St. Patrick's Day games. We also managed to enjoy the beautiful weather with a walk.

Friday was a great day for school work. Kiddo worked his way through his math, Explode the Code, reading, and chores with lightning speed. We did history, then he went back and finished all the things he hadn't done--coloring pages, word searches, and crosswords, etc. He had free time the rest of the day. Work like that deserves some time off.

Curriculum wise:

We finished up amphibians (Unit 21) in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life 1.
We read about the beginning of Rome in Chapter 27 of Story of the World, Vol. 1, covering the story of Romulus and Remus.
Kiddo is breezing through Explode the Code book 6. He is on course to finish it a week before I planned. I am trying to emphasize how the rules apply to spelling, so he gets used to thinking about that. Once we finish books 7 and 8, I'll be looking to add in Spelling and Grammar. If you have suggestions, I am all ears!
In math, Kiddo worked on measuring length in both metric and English units. He declared measuring his favorite thing. Of course, he declares whatever we are focusing on in math his favorite. It also resulted in measuring the kids, only to discover that Kutey has grown 4 inches and Kiddo has grown more than 3. OY!
Kutey revisited Starfall this week for reading. We also worked some math skills with our St. Patrick's Day games. I need to start doing more with her, I am just having trouble figuring out what to do!

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Spring is in the air!

2011-03-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

A friend in the south mentioned that they are expecting 80's this weekend! We are nowhere near that. We still have snow on the ground (especially in the big piles), but the weather is improving. I'll take 50's over teens any day!

Yesterday it was warm enough that the kids and I went for a walk. We saw all sorts birds! Sparrows, finches, crows, a blue jay (which was screeching!), a possible robin, ducks, and red-winged blackbirds. This is the first sighting of red-winged blackbirds this spring for us. I love red-winged blackbirds. Kiddo remembered this when we heard them, which touched my heart. I love them because my mother loved them. My mother loved them because her father loved them. Maybe my kids will love them because I do.

Later in the day, we stepped outside and heard the creek behind our house rushing. We HAD to investigate, of course. Our creek is really just drainage, so melting snow and rain make it flow much more than normal. It flows into a small river that is just a bit away from our house--the yard two houses over touches the river. The river is expected to flood in the next few days.

It was beautiful. Kiddo explored closer to it than Kutey and I. He loved it. Awesome. Nature is awesome.

We saw a fairly new looking woodpecker hole up in one of our dead trees. Kiddo noticed all the older holes first (they are numerous). But this one looked fairly fresh.

We also noticed deer tracks in the snow. We see them sometimes in the summer, but I haven't seen them this winter. Obviously they have been around, though!

It was refreshing to be able to be back in the great outdoors. I was born and raised here, but the cold of winter still gets me. I don't tolerate it well, so this day, this warmth was a gift.

St. Patrick's Day craft

2011-03-18T21:20:00.003-05:00

I had hoped to do a few crafts on St. Patrick's Day. My kids, however, wanted to play. Kutey did one craft, very small.

She decorated 2 shamrocks with glitter glue and jewels, her two favorite craft supplies. Once they dry, we'll glue them together with a string between them so we can hang it up.

Maybe I can get them to decorate a few more...

St. Patrick's Day Fun

2011-03-18T20:06:00.004-05:00

I love St. Patrick's Day. It is my favorite holiday, next to Christmas. Weird? I know. But I love it. Maybe because it isn't as hyped as others. I can decide how we celebrate. We eat green and Irish, we read books about Ireland and St. Patrick, we listen to Irish Music, and we play St. Patrick's Day games.

This year, I made the games. I thought they were great, would be so much fun to play, and we could spend the day playing them. The kids, however, wanted to do other things. Ah, well. Maybe the games will be fun another day!

I did manage to get them to play each of the following games, and they enjoyed them, they just didn't want to play them for an extended period of time.

Shamrock Matching:

Played like memory. Kutey and I played this one together. It is a little trickier than most memory games, because many of the shamrocks are similar, but not the same. Kutey did very well, better than I did!

Shamrock number match:

I made two mats, one numbered one to ten twice, the other one to twenty. I thought the kids could play these together, but I ended up playing with Kutey. We used dice numbered 0 to 9, using 0 as a 10. The idea was, roll the die, cover the number. For 1 to 20, roll 2 dice, cover the number. Great for the first bit, but slows way down as you get into it. I eventually started letting Kutey roll 3 dice. Then she was more likely to get a number she needed!

Shamrock Counting

These cards were made to play two games, but we only played one. Roll a die numbered one to six and cover that many shamrocks. I happen to have enough green counters to use, which made it more festive, but anything would work. This one was quick and works number recognition and counting.

Shamrock Showdown

This is a place value game. I have seen various versions of it around the Internet. I made my own, because I wanted to be able to put it on the back of the above cards, so it needed to be a certain size. I also wanted to be able to have a place for writing the number after the coins were drawn. Kiddo and I played this one a few times. He loved it when he drew good numbers, but not so much when he drew two zeros in a row. He still got the biggest number, but he wasn't as interested in the game anymore. We'll work on that.

Parts of Speech Rainbows

This one is similar to other ideas I have seen on the web, too. I made my own version because I needed it to fit on the back of the shamrock counting cards. I made nouns and verbs, but later realized I should have made adjectives, too. Kiddo loved this game. It is a nice gentle way to talk about nouns and verbs. We have talked about this before, but we don't cover it regularly. I put the cards on an old cookie sheet and pulled out some word magnets. Kiddo sorted them in no time. Then he got out the other set of magnetic words we have and sorted them. It was funny, though, because he sorted them by whether it was a "bounce," "mermaid," or "beautiful" word.

I planned to post these for anyone to print if they wanted to, but I haven't gotten that far. And now that St. Patrick's Day is past, I would guess the interest is much lower. I might still post them, we'll see.

St. Patrick's Day Food

2011-03-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

On St. Patrick's Day, my kids love green. To eat. They have been looking forward to it and talking about it for weeks. So here is what we ate for lunch:

Green noodles (basil linguine), green beans, green apple, green grapes, green jello, and even green milk. Served on green dishes.

I wish I could say they devoured it, but no. Kiddo ate everything except the green apple. Apparently granny smith apples are sour. Kutey ate the grapes. And the jello. Loved the jello. Oddly, she loves the other things too, most days. The jello was just too exciting!

I will admit, the jello is good. It has a layer of cream on top that just makes it that much better. I found the recipe two years ago here. The kids expect it for St. Patrick's Day. It's a tradition, according to them!

Kutey and I made rice krispie bars sprinkled with green sprinkles, too.

Dinner is a different matter. Not so green. More Irish.

Irish Stew and Freckle (soda) bread.

This is the meal we have made for the last three years on St. Patrick's Day. The bread is fabulous and easy, and the stew is pretty easy (though we always forget to cook the potatoes until we need them, then we have to sort of slow the process down). It all tastes great.

We finished the night off with mint and fudge brownie ice cream. Green ice cream has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition, too.

Do you eat anything special for St. Patrick's Day?

This may not seem very important, I know

2011-03-17T17:03:00.003-05:00

But it is, so I'm bothering telling you so*!

It is almost 50 degrees here. 50! Woo-hoo! My car said it was 50 yesterday. Two days in a row! There is hope for Spring yet!

*Yes, that is Dr. Seuss. Yes, maybe I have read the Sleep Book 1 or 2 times....

Random bits

2011-03-17T15:18:00.002-05:00

A couple of random tidbits have floated in and out of my brain today...thought I would share. Maybe that will get them to stop floating around!

There was a fire at my local elementary school, during the school day, on Monday. I didn't find out about it until last night. The dad who told me (his son goes to school there) seemed a bit appalled that I didn't know. Um, I homeschool. My kids weren't there. And I don't watch the news most of the time. They sensationalize things too much. So no, I didn't know. Apparently someone set a roll of toilet paper on fire. Nice. Added to the list of things I don't need my child learning at school. It was handled in an interesting manner, too, according to the dad who told the story. Since I don't have it first hand, however, I won't comment.

The kids and I went for a walk this morning. It was SO beautiful. There were a few issues. There were lakes in the sidewalks, which are no ones fault. It is what happens when snow melts in Minnesota. But there were also dog poop mine fields. ON THE SIDEWALKS! It is a pet peeve of mine. Gonna have a dog? Gonna walk it and let it go to the bathroom somewhere besides your own yard? CLEAN IT UP! No one else needs to be responsible for that. Just clean in up. Likewise, I don't care how friendly your dog is, if you are walking it where you might encounter other people put it on a leash. We encountered one dog this morning. Not on a leash. It was friendly, and my kids are fine with dogs, but we hang out with a number of children for whom that encounter would have been horrific. And the owner was on the other side of the snow mound from the dog. I have in the past had to stand between a dog and someone I was walking with. It is not pleasant and I shouldn't have to do it. Leash laws are there for a reason.

No ear hearing

2011-03-16T19:06:00.000-05:00

Remember earlier this year I did a post on "Instead of...?" One of those was as follows:

1. Instead of...waiting for the perfect supplies to do an art project or science project, move ahead with what you've got. The kids won't know the difference!

I need to remind myself of that one regularly. Science has been roadblocked, not because of the content, but because I want it to be perfect. So I wait for the perfect supplies. For the last two weeks it was a metal slinky. We have plastic one, but the book said metal, so I didn't move forward. We waited. It also called for an eye dropper, which I don't have, so we waited. BAH!

This week, I decided we needed to just do it, get through it, plastic slinky and all.

And you know what? The lab went fine. The kids learned what they were supposed to learn. Go figure!

The lesson was on waves and how some animals hear--newts through their legs, fish through a line on their bodies, etc. It is part of the Amphibians unit in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life (Unit 21). We explored waves of all sorts using various demonstrations.

Slinky waves

Waves on pie plate

Waves in water

Notice the dropper? Yeah, I used a medicine dropper, because that is what I had. It worked, no problem what so ever. It isn't about the perfect equipment, sometimes what you have available will work just fine. Gotta remember that!

Mad Science at the Homeschool Science Series

2011-03-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

This month's Homeschool Science Series presenter was Mad Science. They are one of the presenters we saw last year and loved, so I was really looking forward to it!

From the beginning, though, it was different. It wasn't the same presenter. He was good, but lacked some of the energy of the presenter from last year. None of the information was new. But my mantra, repetition is good, applies here. The more times they see the toilet paper demonstration, the more likely they are to remember the Bernoulli effect and the like. Yes, eventually we will cover it in science (though I don't remember covering it in my science classes...), but they will already have exposure to the concept. That can only help!

Even given that, it was fun and educational! High excitement, high interest, high impact science demonstrations.

How to toilet paper a tree (a.k.a. the Bernoulli effect)

"Anti-gravity"

Dry ice clouds

Our Classroom Today--March 15, 2011

2011-03-15T20:04:00.001-05:00

For our Tuesday group this week, we had planned to have a holiday party. We have talked about having a party for Halloween, and Valentine's Day. But we never did either. St. Patrick's Day seemed like a good plan.

I pulled together all of the games and activities I have made for both Valentine's and St. Patrick's day, printed off what I needed, and took everything with.

But we didn't play them. Nor did we do any crafts. The kids had other ideas. And THAT is what is so great about this group, and about homeschooling. In other venues, the party would have been forced. The kids would have been obligated to sit and play the games we arranged, whether they liked them or not. They would have done the crafts, whether they liked it or not. But they didn't have to. They got to do what they wanted to do.

And what they wanted to do was perform plays and dances for us. They took turns picking the story (the Nutcracker, Snow White, and Thomas) and "directing" the play. They picked out costumes. They rehearsed. Then they performed.

That is what they wanted to do. That is what they did. No party, but a fabulous day!

A few of my "favorite" questions and statments

2011-03-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

We have been homeschooling now for 2 1/2 years. I can't call myself a rookie anymore, but I certainly do not feel experienced! Homeschooling is an ever-changing, ever-evolving kind of thing. New challenges and new joys abound.

Often when I meet someone new or when I run into someone I haven't seen in a while, the topic comes up. Usually because I have kids in tow in the middle of what is termed a "school day." Kiddo has become very good at responding to the inquiries of why he isn't in school with a simple "I am homeschooled." The inquiries that follow, however, are always directed at me.

These are some of the more common questions I am asked. I try to answer without being offensive. Homeschooling is our choice. I respect that it is not for everyone.

"Isn't that a lot of work?" Well, yes and no. Yes, educating my children is a lot of work. But it is also a lot of play. I don't have to work on homework with them when they come home from school, completely exhausted, with no desire to do anything. I work with them when they are at their prime. I also get to see them learn. I get to witness the ah-ha moments. And I know when they are struggling and we need to take it slower or take a break from something all together. I am only teaching 2 kids. I don't have a classroom of 25. Yes, it is work, but it is a very different kind of work.

"How long will you homeschool?" I don't know of too many homeschoolers who can answer this one. My usual response is "As long as it works for us." The last time I was asked this question, just last week, the follow-up was, "Even through high school?" Well, yes, if it is still working for us, we will. There are so many resources out there these days for homeschoolers. I don't have to know everything to educate my child. There are co-ops, virtual classes and schools, comprehensive curricula, and tutors available should we need them. Honestly? I rarely look that far ahead. It is working for us now, and that is what matters.

"My kids would drive me nuts!" I totally understand that. Homeschooling is not for everyone. Honestly, there are days when my kids drive me nuts, too. There aren't many of them, though, and it is usually me, not them. I love hanging out with my kids. I love hearing their ideas and their stories and their discoveries. The good days outweigh the bad moments for me. But I TOTALLY understand that it wouldn't work for some people. Good thing it doesn't have to.

"Are there other homeschoolers to get together with?" Um, yes. Loads of them. Especially since we live in a major metropolitan area. Homeschooling gets a reputation, mainly among non-homeschoolers, for being isolating. I disagree. If anything, I feel more connected to my community now than I ever did before. I know far more of what is available out there than I did before I started homeschooling, and we take advantage of more.

There are also non-homeschoolers to get together with. We see our public school friends when they are off from school, after school, and on weekends. What's more, my kids interact with people of all ages. As this question was being asked of me this week, Kiddo was following my sister around while she worked. He was respectful, didn't get in the way, and was learning the whole time. There were not two people in the room who are the same age, either. 6 people, 6 different ages. That is the real world. I don't worry about whether or not my children are learning how to behave with other people. I know they are. I witness it every day.

If you are a homeschooler, you have likely heard all of these questions. Do you have standard answers? Are there others you find yourself answering repeatedly?

Weekly Wrap-up--March 11, 2011

2011-03-12T14:14:00.004-06:00

This week started out in a rush, but calmed down as it went.

On Monday we spent the day playing with friends who had the day off from public school. It was well worth shelving school plans for the day!

Tuesday was Kutey's birthday! We started the day at The Works homeschool day making compasses. After that fun, we headed to our regular Tuesday group for lunch and play time. The kids performed the Nutcracker for us at the end of the day, a performance of their own creation. It was so fun!

We finally got to some regularly scheduled school work on Wednesday. Math, Explode the Code, and History were done. Most of that happened at the end of the day, however, after Kiddo was told he could not play Lego Harry Potter on the Wii because he had not done his school work. Work was done in record time, though, once that was the motivator.

Thursday was disrupted by my trip to the dentist. The kids got to spend some time with Aunt J. They even got to go visit her office, which they LOVE doing. We also toured around a new building on the campus where she works. I went to college there and I know several people who work there, so it was fun!

Friday Kiddo plowed through his school work so that he would be able to have lots of free time. He has finally figured out that if he just finishes his school work he will have the time he wants to have to play, build with LEGOS, or read.

Curriculum wise:

We read Chapter 26 in Story of the World, Vol. 1. We moved to North and South America for the chapter, studying the Nazca and Olmec peoples.
Science took a back burner this week. As much as I love R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, I find I am having trouble motivating to do it. I think it is partly because I have to cover things completely out of order, which means more prep and preview for me to be sure there is not anything that has to be covered that we haven't covered in order to understand the material.
Kiddo continues to move smoothly through Math. I have to make sure I am moving fast enough so he doesn't get bored! That is an adjustment for me.
Kiddo is also breezing through Explode the Code. I continue to learn new things right alongside him. I never learned all the phonics rules when I was in school. Spelling makes so much more sense when you know the rules!
Kutey has been mostly drawing and listening to stories this week. She has fully recovered from her illness, I just haven't gotten back into the swing of scheduling her activities.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Quidditch/dodge ball

2011-03-11T13:02:00.001-06:00

My kids are playing some sort of quidditch/dodge ball combination game in my family room. I think it needs to be spring. SOON!

I cut open an apple

2011-03-11T00:43:00.002-06:00

I cut open an apple for lunch, and found this:

Sprouting seeds!

Bunches of Birds

2011-03-10T18:49:00.000-06:00

When we put out our bird feeder this fall, we were hopeful that it would mean more birds for us to watch. I was especially hopeful that it would mean that we would have better results for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). While we had better results, it was not because of the bird feeder. In fact, we had only filled the feeder twice since we got it. We filled it right away, then we refilled it once, and again before the GBBC, though it really didn't need it. We just topped it off.

It wasn't until the last few weeks that we really started to see activity at the feeder. Yesterday was a big day. We saw: 8 sparrows (they kind of hang around all day, either at the feeder or in the bush nearby), 5 black-capped chickadees, 3 dark-eyed juncos, 2 cardinal (one male and one female). All in a short period of time. We need to refill the feeder again, because there have been so many lately!

Our Classroom Today--March 8, 2011

2011-03-08T23:29:00.000-06:00

After our trip to The Works, we headed to our regular Tuesday group for the afternoon. My friend T (another friend, not the one from The Works), bought a new house recently and invited us all over. From the time we arrived to the time we left almost 5 hours later, the only time we really heard from the kids was when they were hungry!

I got to spend the time hanging out at the kitchen table, talking, laughing, generally forgetting all my troubles. I love this group. Love this group. Toward the end of the afternoon, we were informed by the kids that there was going to be a show. They spent time creating, choreographing, and rehearsing. When they were ready, we moms went up and and watched them perform their version of "The Nutcracker."

It was so cute. We laughed, they laughed. They did such a great job! And we directed none of it. They came to this completely on their own. They worked together, ironed out differences and changes of mind. Yet another example of why I love homeschooling: being able to allow kids the time and space they need to be able to figure out how to work together to create something great.

Compasses at the Works

2011-03-08T22:54:00.001-06:00

The monthly homeschool day at The Works happened to fall on Kutey's birthday this month. When we discovered that, Kutey was super excited. YAY! No need to plan for the day, someone else did it for me.

This month we covered compasses. First we played with magnets labeled with north and south. Nothing new, we have done this before. This was a little more directed, I guess, but nothing new. There was no explanation of why magnets are magnets, which actually disappointed me a bit. Then we were given a cylinder with iron shavings in it and a magnet that you can put in the middle and take out again. It was cool, but we only got to play with it for a few seconds before they took it away so we could build our own compasses.

This was fun, and again, one of those things where I went "why didn't I think of that!" I was left, however, with the feeling of wanting more. Maybe I was distracted. My friend T was there with her three boys (one of whom is 6 months old--babies are distracting!), so maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but there seemed to be very little meat to this workshop. I just wanted more. I wanted more explanation of magnets. I wanted more time to play with the cylinder. I understand there is a time limit, maybe I was expecting to much. I don't think the kids felt anything missing, they enjoyed it. I just felt this was more of a play activity with little teaching.

Monday, Monday

2011-03-07T23:55:00.001-06:00

Monday was a day off from school in one of our local school districts. We sit on the border of two districts. Literally 2 blocks away, and we are in the other district. It doesn't matter, because we homeschool, but it makes neighborhoods a little weird.

But one of the districts was off, and Kiddo's friend M lives in that district. M is the son of my friend A, who works part time in the same district. Because they were both off for the day, they invited us over for a play date and conversation.

It was a great day. My plan was to go over for a couple of hours in the morning, and be home for lunch. After lunch, we would do our school work. Perfect.

One catch. The kids were playing so well together. It isn't always easy when you get kids together and 2 are the same age, and the other is younger (and a girl!). But it was great. M and Kiddo included Kutey in their play. Kutey followed along and didn't complain. Kutey's only complaint was hunger. I swear, I feed her. But she is always hungry! A offered to make lunch. The kids wanted to stay. Hubby works late on Monday's. It was a perfect storm. So we stayed. And stayed. There was only 1 moment of trauma. It wasn't big. Kutey was embarrassed because she took something apart the M didn't want her to. M was frustrated. We managed to work through it, though, and all was well. But Kutey was determined at that moment that we were going home. I am very glad we didn't. Lots of good conversation for A and I. Lots of great Harry Potter and LEGO play for Kiddo and M (and Kutey.)

It was totally worth getting off our school schedule. Especially since A and M will be in Ireland(!) for 10 weeks(!) this summer. Not that I am jealous or anything (so totally jealous!)

The last time

2011-03-07T21:40:00.002-06:00

I just put my four-year-old to bed for the last time. Tomorrow she turns five. Five! FIVE! I can't believe it. Five. What a very short time it takes them to get there. What fun it is to be a part of. Tomorrow Kutey will be five. And I will just have to accept that there is nothing I can do to keep them little forever.

Reptiles and Amphibians

2011-03-05T23:11:00.008-06:00

This week we have spent time studying reptiles and amphibians. It is 2 separate units in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, but we kind of combined them. Partly because I was ill-prepared and couldn't find a slinky for one of the amphibian labs and partly because we were on a roll and just wanted to keep flowing with it.

For the first lab, we made metamorphosis wheels. Very fun project, though a bit picky. I shrunk the template down to 80%, for those of you using the curriculum. This allowed me to cut both squares out of one folder. With two kids, this seemed less wasteful. I used plain cardstock for the wheel in the middle, scraps left over from other things. I cut out all the pieces. I marked the circle in quarters on one side and thirds on the other. I put the square and the circle together. I cut out the phases. The kids did the rest. Kutey was even able to put all the phases on the wheel in the correct order, on the correct side, with no help from me.

The kids love these wheels. Kiddo was very excited to show Daddy when he got home.

We skipped the next lab, because we couldn't find the slinky. We probably could have done the rest of the lab, but we didn't. Instead we moved on to reptiles. We learned about the difference between the skin of an amphibian and the skin of a reptile, then we did a lab to demonstrate this difference.

The idea is to see which one of the paper towels dries out first, which is bad, and explain why amphibians need to stay near water and reptiles don't. And of course, where humans fit in to this.

It was an easy lab, the results were exactly as expected, even though there was no sun to place the tray in as we were supposed to.

Then the kids drew a picture to illustrate a poem about lizards. Very fun, even if it didn't introduce any new material. It was the second of the reptile "labs."

I also had Kiddo read a book about reptiles. At least once every couple of minutes, he was telling Kutey and I some interesting factoid he was reading. So excited. Must have been a good book.

We also read About Amphibians. We have read it before. The first time, I wasn't sure I liked it. There is a sentence on each page, with a lovely picture. At the back of the book, however, there was a paragraph of information that goes with each picture. I think I would have liked the book more if the paragraph of information was on the same page as the picture. It is growing on me. The information is good, it's the format that I have trouble with.

Eventually we'll finish up the last lab on amphibians, but even without it, the kids have learned a lot.

Weekly Wrap-up--March 4, 2011

2011-03-05T20:40:00.000-06:00

Weekly wrap-up. Probably should get one of those done.

I asked a couple of questions on my blog (here and here) this week that I am interested in hearing your response to, so please click and comment. Thanks!

Monday. Monday is a blur. I had extra kids, which was taxing at every turn. Just exhausting. School was slow. We worked a bit on our Greek Gods Family Tree, did an Explode the Code lesson, but that was about all. The challenges presented by this situation are the topic for another post.

Tuesday we stayed home from our Tuesday group again. Kutey is still easily tired, so I wanted to giver her a bit more recovery time. She took a long nap in the afternoon, which reinforced my choice. Kiddo started learning a bit of Spanish using Mango. I can't say if we like it or not yet. He wasn't chomping at the bit to do it again, so we'll see.

Wednesday was all about Seuss. Dr. Seuss. We celebrated his birthday by reading books, eating a special Seuss inspired lunch, and doing a few Seuss inspired activities.

On Thursday we went on a surprise outing to Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. That pretty much shot the rest of the day!

Friday was a great day. It started out fantastically! We got through a ton of school work, finished up some long out-standing science, and worked ahead on some more science. Math was worked, Explode the Code. History and lots of science. Good day.

Curriculum--

Kiddo is working through Explode the Code very nicely. I am hopeful that this will eventually help his spelling, but I haven't seen any of that yet...
Subtraction of multiple digit, multiple numbers went smoothly. There was a moment of "I don't like this, it's hard," but we pushed through, and by the end, "This is so easy."
We are up to Chapter 25 in Story of the World, Vol. 1, reading a bit about Alexander the Great. I have a few books from the library to read as well. We didn't get to them yet.
In R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life 1, we finished up our plant study (yeah, a month after we should have). We also worked on some amphibian and reptile labs--Unit 21 and 22
Mystery Class is going well. Kiddo enjoys it and I think we are both looking forward to the longitudinal clues coming soon!
Kiddo started learning a bit of Spanish. He has wanted to learn for a while, I have been dragging my feet. But I found out our library system has Mango languages available free. It has Little Pim, supposedly for up to age 6, but I started Kiddo on it. We'll see. He only did it once, and wasn't all that excited, so it might not be what we stick with. Time will tell.
Kutey spent a lot of time drawing and having books read, but not much else. She did join us for science, but that was about it.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

All before breakfast!

2011-03-04T18:48:00.002-06:00

This morning when I made my way downstairs, I found this:

Kiddo actually started on his school work. Before I made my way downstairs. He had gone through what he normally does and figured out what he could do without me. "Pick one." I have a card that lists several "enrichment" activities for him to do. Each day he picks one of them. Tangrams, Logic Links, KenKen puzzles, Sudoku puzzles, and, of course, his favorite, Build-it Cards. So he picked one. And did as many cards as he could before he ran out of blocks. We have 3 sets of 20. That was enough for 6.

After he ran out of blocks, while I was getting breakfast, he picked another.

He and Kutey had a blast making things that stood up:

It started the day of well. We got through so much. All because Kiddo chose to start the day.

A Surprise Outing

2011-03-03T21:57:00.002-06:00

Today (Thursday) we had a surprise outing! You know, the kind where you plan for a month, buy tickets, hide them in the cupboard, but don't tell the kids. Why not tell them? Because the look on their faces is priceless when they figure out where you are.

This was a trip for Kutey. Kiddo and Daddy and I went along, but it was ultimately for Kutey. We don't often go on field trips that follow Kutey's interests; Kiddo's love of history lends itself to field trips much more easily than princesses. But not today! Where did we go?

Disney on Ice, Princess Wishes!

I know, I know. But if you saw that little girl's eyes light up when we got inside the arena and I asked her if she knew where we were. Pure joy. "Princesses Dancing on Ice!" Worth it. So worth it. And after our last few weeks, it was nice to see some pure joy and a little sparkle in those beautiful eyes.

The show was fine, not as good as the one we saw in December 2009 (yes, this was the second time we saw "Princesses Dancing on Ice"), but still good. Kutey loved it, Kiddo? He tolerated it, but he was not thrilled by any part of it. Not even when they lit the ice on fire. Nope. He didn't hate it, but, well, he kept saying he would rather be doing school.

It may have been that he was simply tired. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I wasn't terribly surprised Kutey did, given that she has been taking naps everyday since she got sick. I was a little more surprised by Kiddo. Crowds and noise are not his thing, though, so I am sure that tired him out some too.

It was great family outing. I just love to watch Kutey absorb "Princesses Dancing on Ice." I love that she calls it "Princesses Dancing on Ice." I love that she so loves princesses. And I love that we could go on an outing that was completely her.

We finished plants, FINALLY!

2011-03-03T18:47:00.000-06:00

This week we finished our plant study. Oh, you thought we had already done that? Before we moved on to birds, amphibians, and reptiles? Well, almost. We had one lab that was not cooperating. Remember when we covered leaves with foil to see what happens when leaves are deprived of light? Well, removing the foil after one week did not yield results. Two weeks, no results. Three weeks, nothing. Finally, at four weeks, we saw results. Well, on one leaf. Out of three. Darn healthy plants.

It is entirely possible that the leaf was simply due to die through the natural life-cycle of the plant. We won't mention that to the kids, though!

And apparently this plant is opposed to pictures that are in focus...

New wall decor

2011-03-03T18:38:00.001-06:00

Even though we read the Story of the World chapter on Greek Gods a bit ago, the library was a bit slow getting us a copy of The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki. We got it last week while Kutey was sick. I read it to Kiddo while Kutey was napping. We were planning to read part of the book because Kiddo wanted to play outside. Kiddo was enthralled, however, so we finished the whole thing.

After we read the book, we made a chart. It took the place of making a family tree, at least for the time being. I typed up blurbs about all of the gods and goddesses featured in the book--some of which we knew about, some of which we didn't. Once they were typed up, I cut them out. I did a lot of the preliminary work. Once that was done, however, it was all up to Kiddo. We started with two large sheets of construction paper, but it became apparent that would not be large enough. So I pulled out a piece of poster board my sister had found and donated to our school. Much better. I helped Kiddo lay everything out, but he decided where things were going to go. There were lines talked about, but he never drew any of them in. Instead, once it was laid out, he got out the glue stick and glued everything in place. When it was dry, we mounted it on the wall in the dining room, where it has been entertaining us during meals. It has been a great memory tool!

Creative Seuss-esque Works

2011-03-02T22:40:00.003-06:00

In addition to the Dr. Seuss food lunch and reading and reading (and reading!) Dr. Seuss books, Kiddo created some Seuss-esque works.

The first was a book he sat down and wrote and illustrated of his own accord after we read "There's a Wocket in my Pocket." He created his own characters, like a fook on the book. Page after page, whipped out like it was nothing. No, the drawings aren't his highest quality. Yes, the spelling is terrible. But that matters less than the fact that once he started the project, he followed through with it all the way to the end. In fact, the back of the last picture says "The End." Very fun!

The second thing was something I requested he do. After we read so many Dr. Seuss books, I asked both Kiddo and Kutey to draw: A new kind of fish for McElligot's Pool, a new creature There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and a new sleeper for The Sleep Book. I asked that he color them, too. He whipped these out. And he made an entirely different character for the Wocket. Kutey was still feeling a bit tired and did not do the drawings. She has been drawing up a storm lately, too. Just not Seuss-esque.

Odyseuss' Ship

2011-03-02T18:48:00.000-06:00

We have been listening to Mary Pope Osborne's Tales from the Odyssey read by James Simmons. It is a fabulous listen. Kiddo loves it.

While he was listening the other day, while Kutey was napping (she has been doing that a lot since she was sick), and after he had finished his school work, he began building a ship. Odysseus's ship.

And what replica would be complete without the people!

One of them is Odysseus. I have no idea which one. The chains go to a raft, another part of the story.

I love how LEGOS allow Kiddo to process what he is learning. He is constantly building, often things like this that go along with what we are studying. And it absolutely helps him to retain the information better. I have a hard time believing he would retain half as much if he was sitting in a desk listening to this. Guess it is just one more reason to love homeschooling!

Carving like the Ancient Greeks...almost

2011-03-02T18:46:00.000-06:00

When we read Chapter 24: The Wars of the Greeks in Story of the World, Vol. 1, one of the things we discussed was the peace time advances the Greeks made, particularly the advances they made in art and architecture. We talked about carvings that looked real: muscles in arms, folds in fabric, etc.

Then Kiddo tried his hand at carving. Using a bar of Ivory soap, a butter knife, a skewer, and a stick from those crazy silly scratch off craft things.

He made a robe, cauldron, and wand from Harry Potter. Obviously the scale is a bit off, but it was the process that mattered...

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

2011-03-02T12:04:00.004-06:00

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday, and we are celebrating. We actually started yesterday. Do you know how many Dr. Seuss books there are? We don't own them all, but I told the kids we would read the ones we own. That is still a lot of books! Reading them over 2 days is best for all involved!

I love Dr. Seuss. I love that he managed to write books that are not only fun, but send some great messages, too. Kutey's current favorite books happen to be Dr. Seuss books--The Sleep Book and McElligot's Pool. McElligot's Pool is actually a favorite of mine, too. Imagination, faith, and hope. All things that are so important.

The Sleep Book is pure fun. You know how sometimes you get songs stuck in your head? That happens to me with The Sleep Book. I am considering attempting to commit the whole thing to memory. I already have large chunks of it unintentionally from pure repetition. Kutey does, too. She can sometimes fill in gaps for me when I can't remember. It has been a fun driving past-time lately!

In addition to reading the books, we had a special lunch.

I picked out some of the foods, but Kiddo always has creative additions. My mind does not work like his!

Can you guess which foods came from which books? Some of them are very, very easy. Those are likely mine. Some are much trickier. Those are likely Kiddo's. At least one food represents two books, too.

The books represented are: Sneetches, Ten Apples up on Top, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street, and The Sleep Book.

Foods used: eggs, ham, cheese stars, apples, grapes, noodles, and water. The last three are a stretch.

Did you celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday? Any great activities?

What about this one...

2011-03-02T07:17:00.000-06:00

Would you rather your child watched Sp*nge Bob or Arthur (you know, the PBS Kids show?)

And yes, this is another serious question! I am trying to figure out exactly how out of touch I am...

Book Sharing Monday--Elephant's Story

2011-02-28T17:06:00.003-06:00

It's Book Sharing Monday again!

Today I am sharing another book we have had for a while. Sometimes we get great books as gifts (sometimes we get terrible books as gifts, too!) This one is great!

Elephant's Story by Harriet Blackford and Manja Stojic

This is another book that follows the life of a baby elephant. The story is beautiful, as are the pictures.

This is a great picture book accompaniment to a study of elephants. We'll be using it when we cover mammals soon!

The author and illustrator team have two more books, one about tigers, one about gorillas. I plan to check those out, too! I can't believe I haven't seen the gorilla one, given that Kiddo loves gorillas!

Would you rather...?

2011-02-28T14:37:00.001-06:00

Your child be interested in Sp*nge Bob Square P*nts or Harry Potter?

(Yes, this is a serious question!!!)

Weekly Wrap-up--February 25, 2011

2011-02-26T23:11:00.003-06:00

I should be realistic and just plan to do this post on Saturday. I never feel ready to wrap-up our week and summarize what we have done on Friday. There are usually loose blog posts floating around, too. So here it is, on Saturday again, and probably for the foreseeable future that is the way it will be!

We had a week at home this week, because Kutey was still under the weather.

It snowed here Monday, a continuation of the storm we started on Sunday. In all we got about 18 inches of new snow. Hubby's office was closed for the day because of the snow, which was fun! I ended up taking Kutey to the doctor because she had had a fever for 5 days. Diagnosis? Influenza. Joy. Kiddo stayed home with Daddy and worked on his school stuff. Yes, he still had to do school even though our schools were out for Presidents' Day and Daddy was home for snow. We finished up our Great Backyard Bird Count by seeing no birds, and we punted on our bird lab, since we couldn't really get to the zoo. Kiddo and Kutey also did some bird drawings.

Tuesday and Wednesday we did lots and lots of school. Kutey was still sick, but Kiddo was able to get through lots and lots of math, reading, Explode the Code, science, and history.

Wednesday night, Kutey started complaining that her ear hurt then didn't sleep much. So Thursday we headed to the doctor again. Once we got home, gave Kutey antibiotics, and got her down for a nap, Kiddo and I watched the last launch of the space shuttle Discovery.

Kutey was still feeling not well on Friday. Kiddo worked through his school work and hit the LEGOS. Math was his big thing of the week. We also managed a Friday History Field Trip! It was a virtual trip to Mount Vernon.

Kutey is slowly getting better. No one else seems to have come down with what she had, or if we did, we had a more mild case. I am thankful for that. I am also hopeful that after 10 days (yes, 10 days!) of fever, Kutey will be much, MUCH better tomorrow.

This week's curriculum:

Kiddo finished up Explode the Code 5 1/2, a full week ahead of schedule! He'll start the Book 6 on Monday!
Math, Math, MATH! Kiddo took giant leaps forward. With understanding came enjoyment. I know it helped that I sat down and took the extra time to be present with him. Three and four digit addition with multiple numbers? No problem. Let's hope subtraction of the same comes just as quick and easy next week!
In history, we read Chapter 24, "The Wars of the Greeks," in Story of the World, Vol. 1. We also read a bit more about the Greek Gods from last week, since the books finally came in to the library!
We finished up Unit 23 on birds in R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey-Life 1, and started Unit 21 on amphibians. I admit I am a bit blocked on science right now. I have a tough time gearing up for lab days, even when the labs are super simple. We should have finished amphibians this week, but we will have to work on it next week.
Kiddo read the Magic Tree House Research Guide Sea Monsters, in addition to 3 very easy books on Presidents' Day, and the continuation of Harry Potter.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

LEGO Shuttle

2011-02-26T20:17:00.003-06:00

After we watched the launch of the space shuttle Discovery, Kiddo set to work making a LEGO model of the space shuttle and it's boosters.

He worked with what he had, and I think he did a pretty decent job! I looked up a couple of pictures for him to work from, but that was it. The boosters all fall away, the cargo bay is open, an arm is able to bend in all sorts of directions, and there are 2 astronauts and an space suit inside the shuttle.

The two vehicles outside are the rovers. One is older, one is newer, according to Kiddo.

So fun!

What's LEGO creations are in your house this week?

Lego elephant

2011-02-26T20:00:00.004-06:00

Have you seen the new PBS show Wild Kratts? Kiddo and Kutey enjoy it and actually learn quite a bit about animals from it. This week there was an episode on elephants and afterward, Kiddo built this:

The creativity LEGOS bring out is wonderful. What have your kids built lately?

Math, Math, Math

2011-02-26T14:16:00.004-06:00

What a difference a few weeks makes! A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to determine if our math curriculum (Singapore) was a good fit for Kiddo, and ME. Mostly me. Math-U-See was looking attractive, thinking maybe I just needed someone else to explain things to Kiddo. We may still look at Math-U-See, but for the moment, things are going much more smoothly. And Kiddo? Kiddo has been bounding around the house for the last few days saying math is his favorite subject.

He has also been doing this:

Those are all math problems. Most of them he has made up himself. He carries the clipboard around the house, writing problems, solving them, then checking with Daddy or I to make sure he has done the problem correctly. I did make an effort to spend a bit more time just hanging out with Kiddo at the table this week. We had no outside activities (other than our trip to the doctor for Kutey) which left lots and lots of time for Kiddo to process new concepts. Big wall, crumbles down. Love it.

Mount Vernon--Friday History Field Trip #14

2011-02-25T17:14:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since our last Friday History Field Trip. Winter isn't the greatest time for them, but we also have been focused on other things. With Kutey sick, the last two Fridays were out of the running for any outside activity.

Enter the virtual field trip. We had so much fun on our last virtual field trip, we decided to try another one! Since it was President's day on Monday, I looked for a George Washington themed trip. Mount Vernon was just the ticket. Kiddo did some reading about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Presidents' day earlier in the week (actually, ON Presidents' Day), but I saved the field trip for today.

The Mount Vernon website is great. In addition to a tour of the Mansion House (where Washington lived and died), there is a tour of the Mansion House Farm that includes many buildings. Each building included has a picture and a description of the building's purpose. We read each one, though I will admit that the kids tired about half way through. If we had stopped there, however, we would have missed out favorite building!

The Dung Repository.

Bet ya can't guess what this building was for! That's right, it was the poop building. Hysterics ensued at my household when I started calling it that. It is the first known structure in the United States* devoted to composting. Fun, right?

After we read about each of the outbuildings, we FINALLY entered the house. I think the kids were a bit overwhelmed at this point, and I probably should have stopped and done the interior later. But on we went. Through all three floors of the house. It is amazing. Most of the rooms have points of interest you can click on to see more details about a painting or piece of furniture. All of the viewable rooms give a 360 degree view of the room. My one complaint was there seems to be a lack of ability to pan up and down, making it a bit less interesting. In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s house, we could spin around while looking at the ceiling if we wanted to. The feature was missed (not that we wanted to spin around while looking at the ceiling, but panning up to see the paintings might have been good.)

The descriptions are rich in history. I learned so much just from reading all the descriptions and connecting all the people of the time period. The kids learned something too, don't worry! This is a field trip we will definitely take again, maybe even in person someday!

*I find it hard to imagine that the Native Americans here prior to colonization didn't do some form of composting at some point in some area. So it is important to note that they do say, "In the United States" which rules out anything in colonial times or prior, at least in my mind!

104.4

2011-02-25T16:07:00.004-06:00

No, that isn't a radio station. It is a temperature. Specifically, it was Kutey's temperature yesterday on our second trip to the doctor this week. Monday was the first, on day 5 of her fever. She tested positive for influenza, so we were sent home--fluids and rest.

But the fever got worse. It fluctuates greatly. She'll have no fever in the morning, but by mid-afternoon, she is feverish again. Wednesday she started complaining her ear hurt. Wednesday night she didn't sleep. She cried and said "ouchy, ouchy, ouchy," all night long. Thursday morning it was back to the doctor.

And that is where the 104.4 temperature was recorded. And an ear infection (with rupture) was diagnosed.

She is on antibiotics now, which are helping. She had no fever this morning, but she does again now. 9 days of fever and counting.