Our day:

Dd4 spent the morning plunking at piano keys trying to figure out the notes to Little Mermaid songs. She got a good part of the melody figured out. I was amazed. I see music in her future:)

Dd7 worked ahead in her piano book and mastered the Volga Boatman song (Its the song that always gets played when you see a bunch of depressed tired slaves rowing a large ship, LOL). I think there's music in her future, too!

For math, I let Dd7 pick from one of the workbooks I had on hand. She picked Developmental Math and I'm so happy, because I really liked that book and hoped we'd pick it up again. Its Level 2, basic addition. She whipped through 6 pages (it has a lot of pictures on the page, so there are only 5-10 problems per page). For Dd4, I skipped ahead to addition, with the thought that we'll return to place value later in the year. It was a good move! She whipped through 5 pages before I thought she was getting tired. As for me, I've been reading through the AL Abacus book that my homeschooled brother gave me. It is the forerunner of the RightStart Math program that gets rave reviews all over the 'net. Anyhow, some things really clicked for me on putting numbers together to make 10, and the whole behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on when you "carry the one" in addition. In fact, I am so excited about this that I plan to buy an abacus when I order up my next round of books online.

We watched the Sonlight Discover & Do Science DVD today and re-created the bean plant experiment. We've done this one before, and it never ends well. It usually ends with a soggy, moldy bean without any plant growth. We'll see how this one works out. Pray for my little bean seed. It could really use the help. Now, I do have to say that Dd4 planted a bean seed in her co-op class, and that thing sprouted the next day. And I still have it, decorating my kitchen window sill. So maybe it's just me and an inability to grow bean seeds.

Later, the kids played with the Not-Our-Cat outside in the rain. Yes, we have a pet Not-Our-Cat that the 4yo has lovingly named "Jewel". Its a very pretty brown and black striped  kitten that absolutely loves to be petted, played with, held, and given oodles of attention when she comes to visit. She doesn't belong to anyone; we think she was dropped off here by someone that didn't want her. We absolutely adore her but we don't really officially want a cat. We're not cat people. Later, the kids and their daddy worked outside and watched the kitten catch a mouse, play with it, behead it, and eat it. Nice.