This science lesson revolved around air and how sounds are made with air and water....

We took turns blowing into the bottle with a varied amount of water.  We learned that the less water in the water created a lower sound, and more water created a higher sound.


Our second experiment included creating pan flutes using straws and tape.  We learned that the longer straws created a lower sound, and the shorter straws were higher.

For this lesson, the boys were to watch a short video about something that was interesting to them.  They needed to pay attention to what they see, then draw a picture based on memory.  They decided they wanted to watch a video on dingoes.  You can see what we watched.  It's around 6 minutes: Dingoes

This the the drawing 'A' did.  It is an overhead view of six dingoes eating.  We learned that dingoes all form a circle, where their heads are all together eating.  Then, they rotate clockwise (or counter clockwise) depending on what hemisphere they are on.  It's really interesting.  He also shaded the ground, and drew the fence.

This is 'R's.  It is of three dingoes on a log.

This art lesson focused on the kids pating attention to the outline and edges of an item they were to draw.  They choose their stuffed animals to draw.

This is a drawing  'R' made of his koala bear 'Aurora', on a surfboard, by a news stand, with a "news flying thing that shouts out the news"...

Aurora, the koala, and Doby, the dog...

This is a drawing 'A' made of Doby on an airplane, about to land in water...

This is another 'A' drawing of Doby jumping out of an airplane, with a parachute, over a volcano...

We are currently living in a two bedroom apartment, and space is tight.  I found this idea in 'Family Fun' magazine.  These are especially helpful if the kids are working on the same worksheets.  The boys love them, and, I think, appreciate their own personal space, even if temporary....

You can find directions for this at: homemade workstation

I asked the kids what they wanted to draw.  They chose cars. 

'R'...

'A'...

I attended our homeschool network meeting last night.  It was great to see so many new faces!  The topic was on building and organizing a homeschool library. I was also able to get information on record keeping for homeschooling in California.  I have been busy this morning getting all of that in order.

Scripture Memorization:
We are memorizing verses by listening to "Sing the Word: A to Z" .  We listen to it in the car and with a little coaching, can recite (A) Romans 3:23, (B) Acts 16:31, (C) Col 3:20, (D) Mat 7:12, (E) Proverbs 20:11, (F) Isa 43:1.  We still have quite a way to go, but enjoy this CD for learning scripture.

Math:
The boys continue to do worksheets in Singapore Earlybird 2B. Addition.  They are doing a great job on the worksheets, but still need to practice writing the numbers.  Both boys will write the numbers backwards, if they do not have an example to follow.

(Funny note: 'A' debated with me yesterday that numerals came in upper and lower case!)

Phonics:
Explode the Code Worksheets.  'A' is in book 2, 'R' is almost done with book 1

Reading
'A' read the whole "Green Eggs and Ham" Book.  'R' read about 1/3 of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"

Art
Artistic Pursuits, Lesson 12.  We learned the difference between 'shape' and 'form'.  The boys created the form of an animal.  'R's is a cat; 'A's is a dog... 

P.E. / Social
Pool time play with neighbor friends.

Now that the jet lag is over, we are ready to get back into routine!

Today, we:

Sight Word Test
Tested both boys on the Dolch list of sight words:
'R' got: 47/52 for K, and 44/50 for 1st grade.
'A' got 52/52 for K, 49/50 for 1st grade, 52/52 for 2nd grade, 52/52 for 3rd grade
Here are the lists:  Dolch Word Lists

Story Sequencing
The boys went through two stories, broken into graphic templates, and recreated the story in its proper order.  DLTK's Story Sequencing Activities

Handwriting
Both boys did PreLesson One Worksheet in 'A Reason for Handwriting'

Math
Reviewed writing numbers 1-10.  Both boys will often write the numbers backwards.  Did lesson one in Singapore Earlybird 2B.  Beginning addition. 

Bible
Read Bible stories: Elijah is Fed by Ravens, A Widow Feeds Elijah, Elijah Comes out of Hiding, Elija and the Prophets of Baal (All in 1 Kings)

Social
Pool time with my friend Lori, and her girls.

Art
Practiced drawing using "Cars, Trucks, Trains & Planes You Can Draw'

This experiment measured how absorbent an item was.  We collected various items and used colored water to see how much the water was soaked up within five seconds.  The results were recorded from '1' (most absorbent) to '6' (least absorbent)...

Our art lesson with 'Artistic Pursuits' taught us what a landscape was and had the boys draw a landscape drawing based on what they saw in their immediate surroundings.

Here is what they saw...




Hare are the results...

Last week, we learned about trees, leaves, and soil.  We did two experiements:

1) We read about trees and how to determine their age, their benefit to our lives, the difference between a deciduous and evergreen tree, and the parts of a leaf.



2) We looked at the parts of soil.  We gathered some soil and added water.  We recorded what it looked like at the beginning, then after 24 hours.  the tiny pieces at the top are called humus (rotted plants), then the layer is typically water, clay, sand, and stones.  We were surprised to discover that our water stayed murky after 24 hours, unlike the experiment we watched on the 'Discover and Do' DVD.


shaking things up...

After 24 hours...

We have just completed a Unity Study on American Indians.  We created a lapbook that was purchased from  Hands of a Child. 

Some of the items we learned about included:

• Types of dwellings Native Americans lived in across the nation
• Food and how it was gathered
• Why face pain was used
• Toys and Games
  

I have packed up all our Sonlight curriculum, and have now learned that we will not be moving until March. (DH found a fabulous place, but it is not available until then.)  So, instead of unpacking everything I have decided to pull out the book "Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum From Preschool Through High School"  by Rebecca Rupp, and work on the objectives for Kindergarten for both boys.  We started it yesterday and will be an excellent guideline until I can get through the move.

Here is a piece from 'A': "It's a restaurant with good ghosts coming to eat.  There's a guy running with a menu and two servers."

A piece from 'R': " Policemen at a police station and this is a police car parked on the roof and all the people.  There's a refrigerator with watermelon and a star in it."

'R's picture of an airplane:

'A' asked today how matches are made.  Here is an interesting video that addresses that.

We had a playdate with my friend Kathy and her four kids this week.  I had planned on a nature scavenger hunt, but they were playing together so well, that Kathy and I were able to sit and chat instead.  'R' was sick with a fever on Friday, so we took that day off and took him to the doctor.

Bible
Joseph's Family Moves to Egypt/ Job, A Man Who Loved God/ Moses: A Baby and a Basket/ Moses Becoems a Shepherd

Scripture
Matthew 7:12 "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right."

History/Geography
Children's Encyclopedia: Writing and Books.  We learned about hieroglyphics and Braille.  I had the kids try to make their own names in hieroglyphics and also make the dots for Braille.  The pictures did not turn out to post, but it was a fun project.
We also read about Art and Music around the world and through time.
We watched a 10 minute DVD that talked about the women in India and how their culture does not promote literacy for the women.  We will soon be embarking on a service priject to raise money to teach woment to read.

Read Aloud
Continuing with The Apple and The Arrow
The Llama Who Had No Pajama p. 14-15
The Boxcar Children, Book 3 Finished reading

Math
Singapore Earlybird 2A Lesson 15- This is a challenging lesson.  It is recognizing numbers 11-20, and also understanding the tens and ones column.  We will be at this for a while.

Science
First Book of Nature p. 54-59: We learned about how flowers attract visitors and  flowers need these visitors (bees, butterflies, birds, etc.), and how the wind helps flowers.
Activity questions: 98-101

Reader
'I Can Read It'- Val Laps the Cab and 'Bad Land in a Pig Pit'. 'R' read a few sentences of each.  'A' read the rest and another story, 'Tim at the Pig Pit'. Activities 9-10
Explode the Code workbook p. 21-24

Art
Artistic Pursuits Lesson 3- Gesture Drawing.  I would make a face that represented an emotion and the boys had to draw me.  Here are the results.  We did: sad, happy, surpised, tired

'A's Surprised

'R's Surprised

'A's Tired

'R's Tired

'A's Sad

'R's Sad

'A's Happy

'R's Happy

Spanish
El Espanol Facil- Lesson 1 worksheets.  Created character profiles for 'Chichi' (a chihuahua) and 'Belicia' (a girl). 
'A's profile:
Name: Chichi
What they like to do: He likes to fly and flop his ears alot.
Description: He looks like a dog who like to stick out his tongue and speak Spanish.

'R's profile:
Name: Chichi
What they like to do: Jump in the air and spin.  Play.
Description: A doggie.  Un pequeno perro.

A's profile:
Name: Belicia
What they like to do: She like to fly in an airplane.
Description: She has long hair, blonde, and I think her eyes are blue.

'R's Profile
Name: Belicia
What they like to do: She likes to jump and fly.
Description: She is a little girl.

Working on the worksheets to draw 'el nino' y 'la nina'

We reviewed Lesson one, then began Lesson 2.  The worksheet for the Lesson asks the child to draw something the pleases them.  "Fue mi Placer" - It was my pleasure.

'R's drawing
"Chichi and Belicia are int he rain forest and they have tears coming down their face because it is so hot.  I like Chichi because he is so funny."

'A's drawing
"I like to buy videos; I like to read books.  I like to cook, and I like to watch 1 Adam 12." (the original)

Character
We read about 'Creative' - Doing something in a new way.
The kids drew a picture of anything they wanted, but I did not get a picture of it, and don't remember what it was.  However,  at some point 'A' asked DH how to draw a cat.  So, here is DH's version and 'A's version.  I think he did great!

We also learned about 'Diligence' - Working hard to accomplish a task.
We read Proverbs 6:6-8, and talked about how we can be inspired by the hardworking ant.
We talked about Genesis 29.  Jacob was in love with Rachel and promised Rache's father (and Jacob's uncle) that he would work for him for 7 years for Rachel's hand in marriage.  During the wedding ceremony, the woman behind the veils was actually Rachel's older sister Leah.  So, Jacob had unknowingly married Leah instead!  He still loved Rachel and promised Laban to work another 7 years for Rachel.  That's 14 years of labor for the woman he loved!!

Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Vocabulary
hieroglyphics
braille
instruments- stringed, wind, percussion
art forms - sculpture, architecture
song - soloist, duet, choir, orchestra, composer, band
whey
diligence
creative
fue un placer - it was my pleasure
con mucho gusto - with pleasure
mi hermano - my brother
mi hermana - my sister
mi madre - my mother
mi padre -  my father
si - yes
se llama - his/her name is

'A' was sick on two days this week.  On the first day, I was able to do all reading to him in bed and skipped the workbooks/sheets.  The second day, we took off. 

Bible
Egermeier's Bible Story Book - We read about Joseph, Ruler of Egypt.  Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt. Joseph Makes Himself Known.

Memory Verse
Matthew 7:12 "Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

Phonics/Readers
The boys read from "I Can Read It" and did worksheets 15-20 from 'Explode the Code"
I introduced quotation marks and parenthesis.

Science
First Book of Nature: Parts of a Buttercup and activity worksheet.
First Book of Nature: Looking at Flower Parts
Discover and Do DVD #84-85 Flowers
Usborne Science Activities Vol. 2 Flowers, p. 58-59 - We dissected a rose and looked closely at the sepals, petals, stamens, and pistil.

'R' pointing to the SEPALS.

A view of the pistil and stamens:



History/Geography
Children's Encyclopedia- We read about people around the world: houses and homes, food and cooking, sports.

Read Aloud
The Apple and the Arrow (story of William Tell) p. 1-41
The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 3 poems

Math
Singapore Earlybird Math 2A Lesson 14- Recognizing number words

Character
A Child's Book of Character Building - Faith: Memorize Romans 3:23 and John 3:16
Made a prayer list.  Talked to the boys about sharing Christ's love with others.

Spanish
El espanol Facil - Continued Lesson One Vocabulary
me llamo -my name is
pequeno perro - small dog
yo soy - I am
gracias - thank you
de nada - it was nothing / you are welcome

P.E.
Ran laps at mall 5 minutes.  neighborhood walks.  Bike rides.

Art
Artistic Pursuits- Lesson 2
We learned that artists imagine - make a picture in your mind.
We talked about this painting and how the artist used his imagination to convey his feelings about the birthday.
Marc Chagall, The Birthday, 1915

The boy's assignment was to think of a time they enjoyed.  They drew it first with the ebony pencil, then colored it in with watercolor crayons and used a watercolor brush to diffuse the colors.

This is 'A's drawing.  It is all of him playing at the park.

This is 'R's drawing.  It is of a fireboat he saw in the water.

Vocabulary List
I have compiled a list of words we ran across this past week.  I try to pull them back up in conversation over time.  Here are a few of them:
protein
vitamins
starches
staple food
tandoor
chapattis
woks
chopsticks
sieve
bailiff
larder
conspire
bleated
faith-Believing God will do what He says.
Imagine
knave
marathon
amateur
professional (as in sports)
Olympic Games
dialogue
sepal
petal
pistil
stamen

Service
The boys helped me watch the quadruplet babies with my friend, Liann. 

Health
'The Story of Me: God's Design for S#X, Book 1.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

One of our lessons this week was on the parts of a buttercup.  Instead of just reading about it in a book, and look at the illustrations, I decided we should go on a neighborhood walk and bring back a bouquest of buttercups to observe and dissect.

Well, we saw a bunch of dandelions, but after a good walk through our neighborhood, here are the fruits of our labor...

So, we had one buttercup to work with!  We looked at the parts through a magnifying glass.  The parts we learned about are:

• stem- draws nutrients and water up to the flower.
• sepals - the protective covering when the flower is a bud.  The speals separate as the flower blooms.  You can see five sepals under the petals of a fully bloomed flower.
• petals - the colorful part of the flower that attracts bees and birds.  Surrounds the pistil and stamen.
• pistil-holds the seeds.  Surrounded by stamen.
• stamen-holds the pollen.  The pistil and the stemen are needed for reproduction of the flower.
  

Our "budding" scientists at work...

This was our "official" first week of homeschool. The weather has been fabulous so we have had our share of breaks in the yard.  Here is a recap of what we did this week:

Bible
Egermeier's Bible Story Book - We read about Jacob's dream, Laban tricks Jacob, Jacob and Esau reunite, the story of Joseph from childhood to when he was a slave in Egypt.

Memory Verse
Colossians 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord.

Phonics/Readers
The boys read from "I Can Read" and did worksheets 5-14 from 'Explode the Code"
We also brought back out the Bob Books.  'A' read two books from volume 3 and 'R' read one book from volume 1 and attempted a book from Volume 2.

Science
Usborne's Everyday Things - We read and did activity sheets on: Seasons, Stars and planets, Volcanoes, Under the grounds, How flowers grow
We also watched part of the Discover and Do DVD on seeds.

History/Geography
Children's Encyclopedia- We read about The Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution, and Modern Times
We watched a video of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsing in 1940.

Read Aloud
Boxcar Children Book 3, chapters 4 - 9
The Llama who had no Pajama -pages 11&12

Kitchen
We made homemade cornbread.  The boys broke the eggs, greased the pan, stirred, and help clean up.

Math
Singapore Earlybird Math 2A Lesson 13 - The boys had to count and write the numeral and the number word from 1 - 10.

Character
A Child's Book of Character Building- Attentive
Definition: Listening with your ears, eyes, and heart
We read 1 Samuel 3:1-4
We made a list of 10 people we should be attentive toward.  This is a list that the boys did completely on their own...

Spanish
El espanol Facil - Lesson One and worksheet
me llamo -my name is
pequeno perro - small dog
yo soy - I am
gracias - thank you
de nada - it was nothing / you are welcome

P.E.
Bike ride and play in yard

Art
Artistic Pursuits- Lesson 1
We learned that The Arts encompasses music, dance, drama, and visual arts.
Artists compose - put things together to create something they can share and express to another.
We talked about this painting and how the artist composed two areas to focus your attention (the three adults, and the child with the dog.)
Pieter De Hooch, The Courtyard of a House in Delft, 1658

The artist above was known for painting everday scenes, so the art project for the boys was to draw something that they experienced that day.  They used an Ebony Pencil, "the super hero of pencils".

This is 'A's drawing.  It is him at the park with babysitter, Laura.  'A' is both riding the bike, and sliding down the firepole.  Miss Laura is swinging on the rings, and is the person in the foreground.  You can see the playset with the slide, and our door on the right.

This is 'R's.  It is a squiggly sidewalk with a flower, mushrooms,  grass, and the sun.

'A' wanted to draw another picture, so here is a wedding drawing.  From left to right: 'R', 'A,' Jordan, and Laura.  A flower is on the floor between Jordan and Laura.

Vocabulary List
I have compiled a list of words we ran across this past week.  I try to pull them back up in conversation over time.  Here are a few of them:
Nobles
Villeins (the workers for the nobles during the Middle ages)
Minstrels
The Black Death
Industrial Revolution
Coal
Trade Unions
Stars
Solar System
Orbit
The Nine Planets
Attentive
simile
Stook
Lolling
Crust (of the earth)
Mantle
Core
Magma
volcano
Lava
Pollen

Service
The boys helped me do laundry for a friend. 

Financial Management
The boys are feeding, watering, and playing with a friend's dog for a few days.  She is paying them and we will be teaching them to tithe 10%, save 40%, and spend 50%.

We are very lightly doing anything right now.  Here are a few of the activities to recap:

Vacation Bible School starts this week.  I will go with them.  We are all looking forward to it.

Part of the writing and language arts lesson is to have them "Write It Big".  Here they are writing one of the words BIG...

For history, we read a little bit about the ancient Egyptians and Romans.  We learned:

Egyptians:

• both men and women wore makeup
• at a party, scented fat was placed on guest's heads.  As it melted, it covered them in scent.
• Rich children learned to read on write on paper made from papyrus reeds.
• they used picture writing called hieroglyphics.
• Kings were buried in pyramids.
• When a king died, he was wrapped in linen and became a mummy.
• Robbers would try to steal the treasures buried in the tomb with the king.
•  

Romans:

• most did not have kitchens and ate at markets.
• rich people has art on the floor made of colored stone, called mosaics.
• wealthy Romans lay on couches for meals.
• A man wore a toga, a woman wora a stola
• The Roman army was very organized and conquered much land
• Gladiators were men who fought to the death for sport.

The boys wanted to see examples of mosaics, so we looke dup some on the computer.  We found a "make your own mosaic" site. 

'R's version:

A's version.  When I asked him what it was, he said it was "a ladder climbing up to a chicken."

Read Alouds
We are enjoying reading the Hardy Boy mysteries.  We finished book one and have started book two.

Bible
We are reading about the life of Isaac.

Memory Verse
"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved--you and your household." Acts 16:31

I have come to the point now when I see a verse, I will look it up in the NIV Life Application Bible.  The additional information provided enrichens my understanding of the scriptures.  I spent many years trying to understand a piece of scripture, but not getting it because I did not go farther and look into the context and supporting scripture around the verse.

This weeks verse comes from when Paul and Silas were in jail.  They were singing hymns and praying to God.  There was an earthquake and the prison doors flew open.  The jailer woke up and was about to kill himself because he thought his prisoners had escaped, but Paul yelled that everyone was there.

The jailer witnessed what had happened and realized that what Paul and Sila were saying was true and asked how he could be saved.

Paul and Silas' response is stated in Acts 16:31.  A very simple expression.

When we recognize Jesus as Lord and trust in him our entire life, we are assured we are saved.

Acts 16:34 shows how the jailer was filled with joy in believing in God.  We all can have that kind of joy.

History/Geography
Children's Encyclopedia: Overview of early man through the renaissance.

Read Aloud
-Continue reading 'The Boxcar Children'
-Poems from 'The Llama who had no Pajama'
-Mother Good Rhymes: THIS HAS GOT TO GO;  I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!!

Language Arts
The boys read from "I Can Read It".  They have read the "stories": "Nat is Bad" and "Can Pat Tap Nat?"

-I gave the boys letters to make three letter words.  I gave them a word and they had to make the wird with the leters written on index cards.

Science
We learned about the sun and the moon.  How the earth spins on ots axis and the sun stays in place.  It takes 24 hourse for the earth to make one rotation.  When we face the sun, it's day, when we are away from the sun, it's night.  the moon rotates around the earth.  It takes one month to rotate.  The moon has not light of its own.  It reflects light form the sun.

Extra Fun Stuff
We vistited grandma Margaret and grandpa Randy in Sandpoint.  I hope to get pictures up soon.

Bible
We are reading about the life of Abraham and Sarah.

History/Geography
We read about William Tyndale in England.  Mr. Tyndale is responsible for getting the Bible (only printed in Latin) to be translated into English so the common man can read it.  This was considered treason and he was burned at the stake for it.

Read Aloud
-Continue reading 'The Boxcar Children'
-Poems from 'The Llama who had no Pajama'
-Mother Good Rhymes
-My niece, KK, is spending the summer days with us.  I have enrolled her in a Summer Reading competition at the local library.  She needs to read 20 minutes a day to get 1000 minutes completed by the end of summer.  To help with the reading, she is reading "Little House in the Big Woods" to us.

Language Arts
The boys read from "I Can Read It".  They have read the "stories": "A Cat on a Hat" and "A Flat Hat & Rat"

-I took words from these lessons and introduced the concepts of 'definition' to them.  They orally defined words that I gave them.

-I had the kids write words in rice...

-I read fill in the blank questions, and the boys had to provide, and write, the answer.
'R's Bat...

 While the boys work on 'Explode the Code' worksheets, I pulled up a grade 4 spelling list for my niece and had her write the words and re-write the ones she got wrong.

Science
We did this great experiment and I tried to get it on video, but the experiment never cooperated when I wanted it to.  We took a long neck bottle and placed it in the freezer. After it was thoroughly cold, we placed the bottle in a large pot and placed a quarter on the lip of the bottle.  We poured warm water around the bottle.  The quarter would slightly "jump"! This is because the air inside the bottle warmed up and expanded causing the quarter to dislodge.

Extra Fun Stuff
The boys are having an awesome time playing with their cousin, riding bikes, playing with friends,  all the fun outings we take, and mini vacations.  We also continue to go through the sign language DVDs and really enjoy that.

We have decided to homeschool through summer.  We have begun Sonlight's Core C this week.  We are taking it slow and spreading one day out over 2-3 days for now. My niece, K, (and occasionally, P)  is spending most of the week days with me over the summer. Here are some highlights of what we are learning right now:

Bible
Reading about Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah

Scripture Memorization
I bought all four kids a journal to record scripture to memorize.  The journal is also for writing down thoughts, prayers, worries, really anything.  Our first scripture to memorize is:
Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

I find such comfort in this scripture.  We are not perfect and we don't have to pretend we are.  We all sin, we all do things that fall short of God's perfect glory.  In knowing that, and owning that, it is easier to be able to establish a relationship with God; to be able to go to Him and ask forgiveness, something He promises to grant.

History/Geography
We are reading about Martin Luther, the man who stood up to the established church in the 1500's, and brought to light all the practices and law that was inconsistent with the Bible.

If you ask the boys about Martin Luther, they will probably say he was a guy who tripped on a tree root and sliced his leg open with his unsheathed sword.  And, oh yeah, he almost was struck by lightning once, too.

We have marked on our map where Martin Luther lived (in Germany).

Read Aloud
We are reading 'The Boxcar Children".  What a delightful story.  I typically have my niece read it to the boys.  Today, she was not here, so I read a chapter.  There was such a cliffhanger at the end of th chapter, 'A' begged me to read another chapter.  I admit, I wanted to find out how it turned out as well...

We are also reading from a poetry book and a Mother Goose book.  (yes, I am giving mother Goose another chance...)

P.E.
My niece, P, is helping me create a summer P.E. program.  She actually created an Excel document to record the lesson plan, and improvements.  I am pretty impressed.

Language Arts
We are using a book called, "I Can Read It!".  It's a little stretch for 'R', and a little too easy for 'A', but it's working OK for us.  I was not getting anywhere with 'R' on the Bob Books and this is working much better for him.  Here is an activity where the boys pick a word and then have to make that word out of letter flashcards.  I had the boys "teach" each other today:
This program also has them write quite a bit, even though it is not a handwriting program (something I will be adding later...)

Science
We are having so much fun with Science!  We have learned a ton in just the few days we have done it.  Let's hope some of it sticks!
Here are the boys showing off their worksheets about the water cycle, and the colors of the rainbow:

We also tried to create a rainbow with a glass of water, but was not successful.  I ended up buying a prism later in the week.

There is a Science DVD that explains some of the experiments we will be doing over the year.  They boys love it and insist on watching all of the experiments over and over.  It messes up our Scientific Method of creating our own hypothesis, but...whatever...

Here's an experiment we did today.  We have created a scientific journal for recording our hypothesis, eperiment, and conclusion.  The boys narrate to me the process and I record it, then the boys draw a picture on the journal of what we did.

In this experiment, we are learning about how air expands when it is warm.  We took a ping pong ball and dented it...

Placed it in a glass of very warm water and covered it with a plate, thus submerging the ball...

In about 15 second, we removed the ball and discovered that ball had returned to its original form...

The warm water heated up the air inside the ping pong ball.  The air expanded and pushed the dent out!

Nutrition
DH asked if he could teach the kids every Friday on nutrition.  Today, he taught about the food pyramid.  Here are the boys coloring in their pyramid.  Then, they played the My Pyramid Blast Off Game. (An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how their choices fit into MyPyramid.)



Sign Language
One of my best buddies (living in Alaska), just loaned me four of the 'Signing Times' DVDs.  We are currently watching and learning signs from "Nice to Meet You."  The boys love this and want to watch this everyday.  Thanks Dakari!  I love you!!

Bible
We read a devotional that talked about helping around the house.  We read Luke 22:7-13
and discussed how the disciples helped Jesus prepare for the Last Supper.

The Last Passover Luke 22:7-13
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' "And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there."   The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

We read Eyes on Nature: Sharks
Here are new things we learned about sharks....

39 of the 350 species of sharks are over 10 feet long.

Nurse sharks sleep on the bottom of the ocean in piles of up to 40 members.

No one knows how long a shark lives.  Most anticipate 30-100 years.

Plankton  is a mix of plants and tiny shrimplike creatures that the larger sharks eat.

Bottom dwelling sharks eat crustaceans (crabs and lobster) and mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters)

Migrate-traveling longs distances.  Some sharks migrate thousands of miles.

The oil in the sharks liver is lighter than water.  This helps the shark float.

Sharks are cold blooded; their blood changes temperature as the water changes temperature.  But a few sharks have a special heat system that keeps their blood warmer than the others.  They are called "WARM BODIED".  Sharks that have this are the Great White, Thresher, Salmon, Porbagle, and 2 kinds of Mako.

The jaws of the shark is the most powerful on earth.

Scientists can tell the shark species by their teeth or their bite marks.

A shark can go through 7-12 sets of teeth in one year.

Dogfish are pregnant for 2 years. (Glad you are not a dogfish, Liz, Megan, Julie, and Alyssa? :))

Sharks typically attack where there are alot of people in warm, waist deep water. (They speculate that this is because the motion in the water resembles schools of fish). (Leigh's note: This contradicts what the other book said.  The otherr book says to swim with others because the shark is less likely to attack a group.)

Divers can wear a steel mesh suit which can help againt shark bites.

The Mako shark is the fastest shark  at 43mph and can leap out of the water.

Rays are the closest relative to the shark.  They are pretty much sharks flattened out.

Shark skin is 100% stronger than cowhide.

Bible
We read from "God and Me": 365 Daily Devotionals.  We read from Genesis 1:11-13 about the plants and caring for them.

Zoobook: Sharks

New things we learned today:

- Carnivore- eats meat

-The Caudal Fin is the tail fin that propels the shark forward.  Sharks can swim up to 40mph.

-Sharks have slits on the side called gills.  The gills filter oxygen from water for breathing.

-Fish have swim bladders that can be filled with oxygen or a gas to allow the fish to float, but sharks do not have this and most must constantly swim or they will sink.  Some can rest on the ocean floor or on a rock, while others engage in a sleep-swim state, but sharks do not sleep like humans do.

-The Pectoral fins are the two fins on the sharks chest.  These help the shark ascend or descend.

-The shark is a predator.  They hunt for their food, the prey.

-Ampullae of Lorenzini- the small holes below the shark's nose and chin that detect electrical impulses coming from all living beings.

-Lateral Line- A lateral row of holes along the sharks sides that helps sharks to sense all activity around them.

-up to 2/3 of the shark's brain focuses on smell.

-Feeding Frenzy- A bunch of sharks will suddenly bite anything in sight, including themselves and each other.

-Sharks don't chew; they swallow items whole.

-Remoras are fish that will keep the shark clean in exchange for bits of the sharks food.

-Thresher Sharks-Have a tail up to 10 feet long (or half it's body length) that can be used to herd fish for feeding or used as a bat to stun their prey.

-Nurse Sharks can give live birth to 20-30 pups at a time, each about one foot long.

-Tiger Sharks can have up to 80 pups at a time!  They are usuall 4.5 feet long.

-The largest organ on a shark is their liver.  It can be up to 25% of the sharks body weight.  It is typically full of oil used for vitamins, makeup, and paint base.

-Sharks HATE the Moses Sole.  If they bite one, a chemical is released, and they will spit the fish out.  Scientists are trying to recreate this chemical as a shark deterrent for humans.

-Sharks also hate the Pufferfish, for obvious reasons.  A shark can die if the Pufferfish blows up in its throat.

-Sharks are not too picky about what they will eat.  these items have been found in the belly of a shark:

• a bucket of nails
• a case of wine bottles
• jewelry
• a suit of armor
• coats
• a torpedo
• street signs
• a drum

-6 people on average die in the world every year from a shark attack.  50,000 people die in the U.S. alone in car accidents every year.  Staticstically, the bee is deadlier than the shark.

Safety guidelines when swimming:

1. Never trust a shark, no matter how small.  if you see one, get out of the water and tell others to do the same.
2. Don't swim in murky water.  Sharks know where you are, but you won't know where they are.
3. Always swim with someone else.  Sharks are less likely to attack a group.
4. If you have a cut, stay out of the water.
5. If a shark has been sigthed recently, stay out of the water.  They have been known to stay on an area for over a week.

If you are attacked:

1. don't panic. (yeah, riiiight...)  Sharks get excited over panic.
2. Hit the shark on the nose.  Go on the offense.  This confuses and distracts the shark.
3. Stick your fingers in their eyes and up their nostrils
4. Get to a doctor as fast as possible.

We finished the Shark Word Search.  I helped the boys find the words and they worked hard to keep the lines straight in crossing out the words.

The boys also worked on the Shark Vocabulary Sheet.  I picked smaller words for them to practice writing (shark, case, line, pup, dorsal fin).  They also had to identify the parts of the shark listed on the sheet and their purpose. 

The boys colored the Great White Shark ('R's favorite shark) and the Hammerhead (A's favorite shark.).  I took pictures.  Maybe some day you will get to see them!

 Lastly, we looked at National Geographic short videos of different sharks on YouTube.com.

We began a Unit Study on Sharks today.  I have not decided if we will make a lapbook or not.

We read the book "A Sea Full of Sharks".  After reading the book, I asked the boys questions to see what they recalled. I gave all the answers here, but the ones bolded are the ones the boys answered.

How many different kinds of sharks are there? (350)

Sharks can be a long as (50feet)

Sharks can be as small as 6 inches (A)

Most are between 6 to 7 feet (R)

Name five kinds of sharks:

R:
Whale
Tiger
Great White
Dwarf
Goblin

A:
Dogfish
Hammerhead
Bull
Black Tip
Saw

Of the 350 kinds of sharks, (25) have been known to attack people.  Of the 25 kinds that have been known to attack people, only (5) are considered dangerous to humans.

Name the five kinds of sharks that are dangerous to people:
1) Hammerhead (A)
2)Great White Shark (R)
3)Tiger
4)Bull
5)Blue

What kind of animal is the shark? Fish (R)

All sharks live in water (Both)

All sharks have alot of teeth (A)

Name the differences between sharks and other fish:

Sharks	Fish
skeleton is cartilage	skeleton is bone
Denticles-(tooth like spikes on skin)(R)	Scales (A)
Sharks have to keep moving or they will sink and drown-(A)	Fish can float and swim backwards (A)

Sharks have a great sense of:

1. eyesight (A)
2. smell (R)
3. hearing (R)
4. feel the vibration and movement in the water

When a shark loses a tooth, a new one replaces (A) it.

What kind of shark can live in both the ocean and in fresh water lakes and rivers. (Bull)

What are two ways that sharks are born:

1. hatched from an egg outside the mom's body (A)
2. live birth (most are born this way) (A)

True or False:  Sharks are known to eat other sharks. True (Both)

Why do sharks attack humans? They are looking for food (Both)

Why do humans kill sharks?

All answers	A's Answers
Cartilage-burn treatment chemicals
Skin-Leather goods and polishing aids	Skin- make boots, purses, belts
Eye- Cornea transplant	Eyes- transplants
Jaws and Teeth-Souvenirs, Jewelry, Spear Points	Teeth-Jewelry
Blood-Heart Disease Medicine	Blood-Medicine
Stomach-Feed for Fish Hatcheries
Liver-Vitamins, Oil for makeup, Paint Base
Flesh-Meat, Fertilizer  Fins: Soup	Fins- Soup

I  had the boys practice writing 'shark' and 'bull' on the dry erase boards before we stopped for the day.

Sonlight Core B is officially complete!

This past year, in Core B, we:

• Read all the Bible stories in Children's Everyday Bible
• Began Scripture memorization, but stopped mid-year.  We will pick this up again this summer.
• Read all of the Read Aloud Stories (too many to mention)
• Completed all of the Language Arts worksheets and books (Developing the Early Learner workbooks, Dr. Seuss's ABCs, First Thousand Words in English)
• Read all of the Science books (Berenstain Bears Book of Science and Nature, The Year at Maple Hill Farm, what's Under the Sea, Why do Tigers Have Stripes)
• Read all of the Social Studies Books (Things People Do, Stories From Africa, The Gods Must be Angry, People, Then and Now, New Toes for Tia)
• Art Appreciation: Went through the  'Book of Art'

In addition to the lesson plan by Sonlight, (listed above), we also:

For Character and Life Skills, we read: (Right Choices, 365 Manners Every Child Should Know, Little Book of Manners for Boys, Manners by Aliki).  We also role played different situations that require certain etiquette and character virtues.  We attended church, Sunday School, MOPS, and Friday morning Bible study, and some of F/X (Family Experience, an evening church program).

Math: We began Singapore Earlybird.  Halfway through, we had to stop because the worksheets requires handwriting.  We have shelved the math until the boys are able to legibly write their numbers.   We are now working with math worksheets I print from online resources.  We will focus more on this in the summer.

Reading: Began 'Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons'.  Scrapped it after about Lesson 15, for my own sanity.   Began the 'Bob Books' and will continue with these.  'A' is currently in Volume 3 and 'R' is beginning volume 1.

Physical Activity:  Swim Lessons Twice a Week, Soccer in the Fall, Bikes, Family Walks

Spanish:    Went through the first Thousand Words in Spanish.  The boys know most of the colors, how to count to 10, how to say hello/goodbye, and "very good/well".

Misc.  Field Trips, Nature Walks and Hikes, attending a Co-op we began in October 2007, Playdates, LIFE!

(I just pulled this up from my archives.  We began working through this list early August, 2006.  Here is how far along we are.)

I am slowly implementing different elements of the Charlotte Mason structure into our homeschool environment.  The first element is to read from the booklist from Ambleside Online.  Here is the list.  The ones that are bolded are the ones that we have read.  The ones that are red are the books the boys really enjoyed.

Winnie the Pooh series by AA Milne and Ernest H. Shepard

The Little House by Virginia Burton

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman

Brer Rabbit books by Joel Chandler Harris

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Little Red Hen

The Gingerbread Man

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Aesop's Fables

The Real Mother Goose

The Oxford Book of Children's Verse edited by Peter Opie

The World Treasury of Children's Literature selected by Clifton Fadiman.

The Church Mice by Graham Oakley

Hiawatha by Longfellow, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow, illustrated by Ted Rand

My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ted Rand

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney

The Tale of Three Trees illustrated by Angela Elwell Hunt

Wynken, Blynken and Nod illustrated by either Susan Jeffers or Barbara Cooney
Books illustrated by Beatrix Potter (Meet Peter Rabbit and others)
My Little Book About God illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones
The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Poems to Read to the Very Young pictures by Eloise Wilkin
Frog and Toad readers by Arnold Lobel (Audio CD in the car)
Little Bear readers by Else Holmelund Minarek
George and Martha series by James Marshall
Frances books by Russell Hoban
Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylan
Catch Me and Kiss Me and Say It Again by Clyde and Wendy Watson (nursery rhymes)
Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Picture books by Maud and Miska Petersham (The American ABC and The Box with Red Wheels)
Each Peach Pear Plum Janet and Allan Ahlberg
On Market Street by Arnold Lobel
Picture books by Lucy Micklethwait
Brown Angels by Walter Dean Myers--poetry, we skip two poems, I believe.
Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack
Miss Suzy by Miriam Young
Books by Tomie dePaola
In the Night Kitchen (slight nudity) by Maurice Sendak
Jump series by Van Dyke Parks, Malcolm Jones (adaptations of Brer Rabbit)
Year at Maple Hill Farm and others by Alice and Martin Provensen
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Babar books (the originals by Laurent De Brunhoff, not the TV spin-offs)
What Do You Do, Dear, and What Do You Say, Dear by Sesyle Joslin--comical books about manners.
Rose in My Garden by Arnold Lobel
The Man Who Loved Books by Jean Fritz
The Princess and the Admiral by Charlotte Pomerantz
The Story of Holly and Ivy and others by Rumer Godden
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley
Alfie series by Shirley Hughes (very sweet and family friendly)
A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman

Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Ransome/Shulevitz

OR The King with Six Friends by Williams (they're similar)

Crictor by Tomi Ungerer

Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone

The Jumblies and Other Nonsense Verses by Edward Lear (esp one illustrated by Brooke)

Doctor Desoto by William Steig (the best dentist story ever)

Lonely Doll series by Dare Wright

The Sugar Mouse Cake by Gene Zion

Umbrella (about a little Japanese girl in New York City

The Crane Maiden by Miyoko, Matsutani

Two by Two by Barbara Reid (plasticine illustrated Noah's Ark)

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Yellow and Pink by William Steig (a good argument for creationism)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Read Aloud Bible Stories by Ella K. Lindvall Volumes 1-4

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Least of All by Carol Purdy

The Real Pretend by Joan Donaldson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor

Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk

A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

You Are Special by Max Lucado

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

Down, Down the Mountain by Ellis Credle

All the Places To Love by Patricia MacLachlan

Sophie & Rose by Kathryn Lasky

Jan Brett books, particularly The Mitten, The Hat, and The Gingerbread Boy

On Mother's Lap by Ann Herbert Scott

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

Laurie and the Yellow Curtains (an early reader)

Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson

I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse

Fireflies for Nathan by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim

The Rainbabies by Laura Krauss Melmed

Miss Fannie's Hat by Jan Karon

With You All the Way by Max Lucado

No More Singing by Norman Bonner

The Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown

The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
Mommy Hugs (also Daddy Kisses) by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben
Angus series by Marjorie Flack

The Three Little Kittens illustrated by Paul Galdone

The Poky Little Puppy by Gustaf Tenggren

Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Burton

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

Billy and Blaze books by C.W. Anderson

Scuffy the Tugboat by Golden Books

Seven Little Rabbits by John Becker (a repetitive counting/rhyming book)

We read a book called, 'First Thousand Words'.  Each page is a theme and the words associated with it.  I also use the same book in Spanish.

We were reading the words for the train station, the airport, and the garage.  I read the word in Englis, then Spanish, and the boys copy me.

For the word "airplane" , I said:

"el avion"

R says: "I love you too".

I repeat: "El avion"

R says: "I love you too."

It is then that I realized he thought I was saying, "I love you", instead of  "el avion."

****************************************************************************************

We are still reading a chapter book called 'Milly Molly Mandy".  We were reading about how the kids practiced swimming on a crate before going to the ocean.  The boys wanted to do this, so we brought out some boxes.

We are working one writing numbers.  I can't proceed with our math worksheets until we can read the answers!

'A' is on the last book in the Bob Book volume 2 series.  'R' is beginning book 2 in volume 1.

I am a few weeks away from completing Sonlight Core B.  I decided to wait until September to begin Core C.  Since Core 'C' is targeted for ages 5-7, I want 'R' to have a better opportunity to grasp it.  He will be 4.5 years, and with a little modification, he should be OK.  'A' should fit right in.

So, what to do between March and September?  I have decided to do a couple of Unit Studies.  I asked the boys what they wanted to learn about and they decided they want to learn about "the body" and "sharks".

We will also work on Bible Verse memorization and writing letters and numbers.

Add all the fun field trips, hikes, and playdates we can do in Spring and Summer and we should be good to go!

The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is now up and running on Simply Charlotte Mason! I love this website and I love Charlotte Mason.  Enjoy what others share on their blogs about her method.

We are working on Weeks 24-27 of Sonlight Core B.  Here are some of the highlights:

Bible
We continue to read stories from the New Testament about Jesus

Read Alouds
I have decided to take a break from the Mother Goose rhymes.  I just can't handle them any more!  I know that they will be there again in Sonlight's Core C, so I am letting them go for now.

We continue to read many stories from various books.

Language Arts
We continue to work on 'Developing the Early Learner'.  It is perfect for 'A' and a little advanced for 'R', but he is holding his own.  The activities involve visual and auditory memorization, hand motor skills, visual and auditory comprehension.

We read from 'First Thousand Words' in both English and Spanish.  The boys copy my pronuciation in Spanish but I do not expect them to memorize words yet.

Science
We are currently reading a book called, "What's Under the Sea?".  The boys love it and are fascinated.  They want to learn to scuba dive and are not happy about having to wait until they are older.  I told them that they have to learn to swim first and they insist that they are excellent swimmers.

We have watched videos on deep sea fish, including the viperfish, anglerfish, and hatchetfish.  We have spent alot of time watching videos of manta rays and, 'A's fave, the shark.

Social Studies
We read a book that gently introduces the Buddhist faith and its comparison to Christianity.

We read a terrific book titled, 'People'.  It touches on all the different races, cultures, traditions, lifestyles, all over the world.  One of the pages intriducing different games played around the world.  We looked up some of these games on 'You Tube' to see how they are played.

We are currently reading a book, titled, "Then and Now".  It takes a scene and explores the way it was many years ago compared to current time.

Art Appreciation
We continue to look at 'A Book of Art'

Math
We are still working on the worksheets from Singapore Earlybird Math, but we are at the point where I need the boys to improve their writing of the numbers.  So, I have switched to the Enchanted LEarning math worksheets that have them trace and copy numbers.  I am also having them do dot-to-dot sheets to improve their control.  'R' loves these, and keeps asking for them.

Life Skills
We have just finished "The Little Book of Manners for Boys".  We are attending church on wednesday nights for F/X (Family Experience).  The kids (and parents) learn about one virtue a month.  This month is 'kindness'.

Reading
'A' has completed the Bob Book volume 2, book 7, "Jumper and the Clown".  I am now having him review some of the earlier books before moving to book 8.

I just started 'R' with Bob Book volume 1, book 1 "Mat".  I have tried it a few times before, but he was not interested.  He is showing interest now and can get through the book.  I am not sure how much has been because of memory or how much he is actually reading.  Not important.  I am just glad he is interested.

We have had some nice snow recently.  School was delayed two hours, so my niece, KK, was able to come and visit for a couple of days in the morning.  Here they are playing "hot potato"

Fun photo of the boys in jammies with their guitars.

For school, one of the read alouds we are reading is "Milly Molly Mandy".  We read one chapter at a time.  We read a story about MMM's teacher staying at her house while her home was being fixed.  The teacher made paper dolls.  'A' and 'R' asked if we could make some.  I said, "um, sure..." and proceeded to look for directions on how to make these.

Here they are.  For a first time effort, I think they turned out OK.  The boys wanted to hang them from the ceiling so we could always see them.

Today, for math, we talked about how ancient people used body parts to measure items.  I measured the boys' handspan, footprint, and pace (toe to toe a step ahead).  We measured the bedroom, door width, and window width, using these elements.  It was a bit of a challenge explaining to the boys why something was 15 handspans for 'A'  and 18 handspans for 'R'.  'A' thought that he should have the higher number, bcause a higher number is bigger.  He had a hard time understanding that we needed more of 'R's handspans because his handspan is smaller.

Also, measuring a 'pace' was hard because they wanted to either take a huge step or something tiny.  A regular step just was not going to happen!

For science, we read, "A Year at Maple Hill Farm", and learned about seasons and how animals respond to the changing of the seasons.

We continue to read Bible stories about Jesus' miracles and teachings.

I will add more later...

I just discovered an excellent site that talks about different educational approaches.  They give you a quiz to discover what might work best for your family, then offers suggestions for different curriculum.  I really enjoyed looking over this site and think you will too.

Homeschool Diner

Click on either the quiz, or the guide to approaches...

Bible
We are reading about Jesus meeting Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathaniel, the wedding at Cana and Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus and Nicodemus, and Jesus talking to the woman at the well.

Memory Verse
Proverbs 15:23 "It's wonderful to say the right thing at the right time"

Read Aloud
Among the many read alouds this week, we got to read one of 'A's favorite stories.  It is from 'The Children's Book of Virtues" and is called, "The King and His Hawk".  It tells the story of Genghis Khan and his favorite hawk.  Genghis Khan was thirsty and kept trying to drink from his cup that was filled with water from a stream.  The hawk knocked the cup from his hands three times.  On the third time, Genghis Kahn got angry and killed his hawk.  As he climbed to get better access to the water, he discovered a dead large poisonous snake in the stream.  He realized that the hawk was trying to save him.  He learned to never act out in anger.

Language Arts
We continue to work through'Developing the Early Learner', with activities on visual and auditory memory, and sequencing.  We also looke dup words in english and spanish associated with the kitchen.

Science
We read about energy, defined as "what makes things go into movement and action"
Sources of energy: food, fuel, water, wind
How our bodies turn food into fuel
Earth fuels: oil, coal, natural gas
How water is truned into electricity
How we use electricity
(We touched on all these and will go more in depth over the next couple of weeks)

Art Appreciation
We looked at three pictures that showed "Beakfast, Lunch, and Dinner"

Math
We are working on ertimating length.  The kids have to show what is longest/shortest, and measure various items with a LEgo, or a paper clip (ex. a shoe is 3 Lego blocks long or 6 paper clips long).

Life SKills
Reading from 'A Little Book of Manners for Boys": All about girls.  We read that it is important to treat girls and women with respect.  We show respect by- opening doors for them, taking their coat, pulling out their chair, playing with them, speaking appropriately to them, sharing your toys.

Reading
'A" continues to work a few pages at a time on Bob Book Volume 2 Book 7: Jumper and the Clown.
This is a stretch for him.  We will go back and review easier books after this.

We have been studying 'matter', defined as "anything that has weight and takes up room".

There are three kinds of matter: SOLID, LIQUID, and GAS

To demonstrate the different properties, we took ICE ( a solid that holds a shape), and placed it in a container:

We let the ice melt into WATER (a liquid that has no shape and flows and pours)...

Then, we heated up the water and turned it into STEAM (a gas that has no shape at all.  It can be contained in a container or spread through the air.)...

Bible
We read about the birth of Jesus in Bethleham and the shepherds who visit Jesus.

Memory Verse
Matthew 5:8 "Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God."

Rad Aloud
Mother Goose Rhymes
Milly Molly Mandy-Chapter 6 "Milly Molly Mandy enjoys a visit"
This chapter mentioned making something called a "lid potato".  We made them for lunch one day and the boys loved them.  You bake a potato, cut a lid on top, scoop out the insides, mix the insides with butter, salt and pepper, and place back in the potato, and top with the lid.

"The Little Hero of Holland"
"Puss in Boots" (Both boys loved this story)
"The Little Sparrow"
More Eric Carle's 'Animals Animals'

Language arts
DEL-Auditory/Memory-I give the boys three tasks.  They do them after 60 seconds.  The tasks are becoming more difficult and both boys are getting some wrong, but I think I still do great for their age.
Comprehension/Sequence-place a series of pictures into order.  Both do great with this.
Motor/maze-very good.  Visual/Figue Ground-The boy shave to look at a cod and figure out what color goes with what shape accordong to this code.  'R' was sick this day, so just 'A' did it and did it 100%.   Auditory/Rhyming-The boys had to look at pictures and connect the ones that rhyme.  Comprehension/Language-I read a sentence and they chose the picture that best suited the sentence.

First 1000 Words- We named items you would find in the garage, at home, and farm.

Science
We learned about Matter.  Matter is anything that takes up space and has a wight.  It can be a solid, liquid, or a gas.    We talked about examples of a solid, and the liquid, water.

Art Appreciation
'Bedroom at Arles'. 1889, Vincent Van Gogh

'Woman in Her Bath, Sponging Her Leg', 1883, Edgar Degas

'Portrait of William Brooke, 10th Lord Cobham and his family', 1567, attributed to the

'The Sleeping Kitchen Maid'. 1655, Nicolaes Maes

Life Skills
A Little Book of Manners for Boys- How to behave when out and about

Reading
'A' continues to work on "Jumper and the Clown'

Bible
We read about Mary giving birth to Jesus, how God told Joseph in a dream to marry Mary, and Elizabeth giving birth to John.  We also read that Elizabeth's husband became mute until John was born.

Read Aloud
We read many things.  Some include: Mother Goose poems, a story from the Little Golden Book, and a story about George Washington and the Cherry Tree.

Language Arts
Developing the Early Learner worksheets- Motor skills left to right, Visua Similarities (cross out the letter that is not the same as others), Auditory-Similarities (cross out the ones that are not the same sound), Comprehension-Association(look at a set of pictures and cirlce the picture that belongs with the other (ex. Toothbrush and a smile or a towel)

Science
We learned about the wheel and how it is used.  We also looked at an example of a simple machine that can be created (the bird eats the bird seed sitting on a lever.  The lever tips up, ringing a bell and wakes up a sleeping person and causes a string to be cut by scissors which drops a hemmer onto a tube of toothpaste causing paste to land on the toothbrush.)

'A' REALLY wants to make a machine like this... (Calling all Grandpas!!)

Social Studies
Things People Do-The Ballet Dancer

Art Appreciation
We looked at pictures of animals on a farm. Some of the pictures I found online are:

'The Residence of David Twining', 1787, c. 1846, Edward Hicks

'Girl with Pigs', before 1782, Thomas Gainsborough

'Landscape with Cattle', 1895-1900, Henri Rousseau

Life Skills
We read from 'The Little Book of Manners for Boys' about being a good sport and about being a leader.

Math
The boys are learning about the comparison of numbers (6 is more than 5, etc.).

Reading
'A' is working on Bob Book Volume 2/Book 7 "Jumper and the Clown"

Bible
We read about Daniel, Esther,  Ezra, and Nehemiah

Memory Verse
Proverbs 15:8 "The Lord delights in the prayers of his people"

Read Aloud
We read from MotherGoose, The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book, Little Golden Books, Children's book of Virtues, and Animals Animals.  We also read a chapter from Milly-Molly-Mandy.  This chapter covered MMM picking blackberries.  We have an extra activity book that goes along with this.  It had a recipe in it for 'blackberry pudding'.  I had some frozen blackberries, so we made a batch!

Language Arts
Continued with Developing the Early Learner, and covered 'families' and 'food' in both the english and spanish versions of "First Thousand Words" (I do not expect the boys to remember spanish words at this time.  My intent is to get their ear accustomed to hearing it.)

Science
We read abut two simple machines: the lever, and the wedge.  We looked up videos online that showed examples of how these work. 

Art Appreciation
We looked up different pictures from the "Book of Art"

Social Studies
'Things People Do'-The Veterinarian

Life Skills
We are currently reading from 'A Little Book of Manners for Boys"

Math
The boys are working on the concept of 'greater/lesser than...'

Reading
'A' finished 'Willy's Wish'.  We are going to review some of the earlier books before moving ahead.

Physical/Social Activity
Both boys had swim lessons on Monday. 'R' stayed home sick on Wednesday, but 'A' went to soccer and swim lessons, then F/X that night.  Bible Study on Friday morning.

As the boys start to pick up activities, it is becoming increasingly difficult to document the daily lesson.  I will continue to highlight special activities through the week, but instead of a daily documentation of the lessons, I will do a weekly synopsis of what we are learning. 

Last week we read many Bible stories about, Elijah and Elisha, and many of the different kings.  We read Mother Goose, and stories from The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book, Milly Molly Mandy, The Children's Book of Virtues, and Eric Carle's Animal Animals.

We are continuing to work in 'Developing the Early Learner'.  There was one interesting activity where the boys heard two words and had to decide of they were the same or not.  Some of  the two words rhymed.  'A' knew immediately that they were same or not, butit took 'R' a few tries to recognize that even though the words rhymed, they were not the same.

We finished the nature section of the Berenstain bears Book of Science and Nature and will begin the Science section this week.

We looked up four pieces of art.  Here they are:
Georges de la Tour, 1640, 'Cheater with Ace of Diamonds'

Thomas Eakins, 1876, 'Baby at Play'

David Inshaw, 1972-3, 'The Badminton Game'

Rosso Fiorentino, 1520, 'Putto Musician'

The boys were interested in the artist who painted the angel and wanted to see more of his work.  We found a detail piece of this painting and had a good talk about what the painting was about.
Rosso Fiorentino, 'The Descent from the Cross'

I then took the four dates from the works of art (1640, 1876, 1972, 1520) and asked the boys which picture was the oldest and youngest.  They quessed and got them wrong, but something very cool came out of this.  When I said that some art is only 40 years old, other art is 800 years old or even older,  'A' said, "800 is 8-0-0".  I was so surprised!  I had no idea he knew this concept; we are still working on 1-10 in math!  I asked how he knew this and he said, "one time, you said that 300 is 3-0-0, so 800 is 8-0-0."  I love that he figured that out.

We finished the book called 'Manners' by Aliki and began a new one called 'A Little Book of Manners for Boys'.

For math, we are continuing to work on writing the numerals 1-10 using worksheets from Singapore Earlybird.  'A' can easily count items in this range, 'R' still needs help from 6-10 (he loses his place).

'A' is working on reading the Bob Book 'Willy's Wishes'.

Bible
We read where Elija met up with Elisha, and became friends.

Memory Verse
Proverbs 26:23 "Pretty words may hide a wicked heart."

Read Aloud
Mother Goose- "If all the Seas"

Language Arts
DEL-The boys had to look at a set of shapes and decide which shape was not like the others.  Some were kind of hard.  The difference was very subtle.  Both did well, once they got the hang of it.

First Thousand Words-We looked at the page dedicated to sports and exercise.  Then, we went to 'You Tube' on line and looked at videos of: sumo wrestling, archert, ice skating, windsurfing, and skiing.

Science
We read about landcape terms: rocky coast, island, marsh, inlet, bay, lagoon, mountain ridge, large boulder, natural bridge, rapids, falls, creek, rolling hills, etc.

Social Studies
Things People Do- Policeman (Oh, 'A', was so excited!  He is convinced that is what he will be when he grows up.)

Life Skills
Manners Lesson 5 and 6: Phone etiquette

Math
Practice writing 0,1,2 on the dry erase board

Reading
'A' read the "E" page from Dr. Seuss' ABC

Memory Verse
Review verses to date and added new verse
"Pretty words may hide a wicked heart." Proverbs 26:23

Read Aloud
Mother Goose-'Hark!Hark!', 'My Love', ''The Man of Bombay'
"The Saggy, Baggy Elephant"
Eric Carle's Animals Animals-"Butterfly"

Language Arts
DEL- The boys looked at a set of three pictures and had to decide which picture was best suited to go at the end of the sentence. (comprehension)The boys had to draw x's in boxes, then draw a path along a bunch of footprints (motor skills)

Dr. Seuss' ABC- "E"

We had a day filled with activities.  Soccer, swimming, F/X...but, 'R' spent all last night coughing, so I decided to keep us all home.  We cleaned, baked bread, I made soup, some 'school', and family time watching 'Battlestar Galactica' on our bed.

Bible
We read where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to make fire.

Read Aloud
"The Legend of the Big Dipper"
We looked at images online of the Big Dipper after reading the story.  Too cloudy at night to see anything.

Language Arts
DEL-The boys had to look at items and decide whether they rhymed or not.

Science
BB Book-We read about caves, with water/mineral deposits that form called, stalagtites (ceiling down), and stalagmites (floor up).  These two will meet, but it takes about a million years to do so.
We looked up a bunch of pictures on these.

Life Skills
'Manners' by Aliki  Lesson #3

Math
Singapore Earlybird 2A, Lesson 2 Working on recognizing and writing numerals 1-10

Reading
'A'- Bob Book Colume 2 Book 6 A few pages from 'Willy's Wish'

Bible
We read about Elijah bringin g a boy back to life

Memory Verse
You must not steal. Exodus 20:15

Read Aloud
Mother Goose- 'Myself'
'Mister Dog'

Language arts
DEL-The boys had to recognize and trace squares on a page.

Art Appreciation
In the Book of Art, we looked at "Time to Sleep":
Man Lying on a Wall, 1957, L.S. Lowry

Flaming June, 1895, Frederic Leighton

Cupid Asleep, 1620s, Guido Reni (could not find online)

Cat Sleeping under Peonies, 1800, Japanese hanging scroll (coluld not find online)

Life Skills
Lesson 1 in 'Manners' by Aliki (a cartoon book that has differenct scenarios showing good and bad manners)

We began with soccer.  It was raining, but the kids did fantastic.  After soccer, we enjoyed some treats for 'Lil A's' birthday.

After lunch, we met up with my friend Kris and her little boy.  We let the boys run under the awnings at the outlet mall.  After that was swim lessons.

We managed to get some lessons at home accomplished...

Bible
We read about Elijah meeting the widow and God provided flour and oil for a lifetime of bread for her.

Memory Verse
"Do not steal." Exodus 20:16

Read Aloud
Mother Goose- "The Old Woman From Surrey"
"Daddies"

Language Arts
DEL-The boys had to look at a maze and find the solution before putting the pen to paper.  'A' did it immediately.  'R' did it on the second try. (I did not think 'R' would be able to do this.  I am amazed.)

Life Skills
I just bought a new book titled 'Manners'.  It is set in a comic book format.  We read a few pages that showed examples of someone using manners, and others, not.  They boys had to choose who was using good manner and who wasn't.

Math
Practice writing numerals 1-10

We then went to our church for dinner and 'Family Experience' (F/X).  It is a fun evening with skits, music,  dancing, and Bible lesson on a virtue.  This month's virtue is 'Respect'-responding with words or actions to let someone know they are important.  The Bible memory verse is 1Peter2:17 "Show respect to everyone."

(YAY, I got my camera today!  Canon PowerShot SD750!!  I am excited to start practicing with it!)

Bible
We read about the Queen of Sheba, and a couple of the kings after Solomon

Read Aloud
Mother Goose-"My Dusty Miller"
"The Fuzzy Duckling"

Language Arts
DEL-The boys looked at a series of pictures and had to say which came first, second, third in a sequence.  Both boys got all of them correct.

First Thousand Words- We worked on the days of the week

Life Skillls
We read about giving gifts to a host, when it's appropriate and what to bring (flowers in a vase, chocolate, a candle, coffee, homemade baked goods)

Math
I had 'R' verbally name numbers 1-10 our of sequence (flashcards)
I had 'A' place the flashcards in order.  At first, 'A' placed them in this order: 1,2,3,4,5,6,10,7,9,8.  I asked him why he did it that way and he said because it was "easier".  I told him, "It might be easier, but it is also wrong, please make it right."  He did.

Reading
'A' read Bob Book Volume 2, Book 1 "Ten Men"
'R' looked at American Schoolhouse Reader, letter 'F', and sounded out the word "fan".

Bible
We reveiwed the memory verses to date.

Memory Verse
Exodus 20:15 "You must not steal."

Read Aloud
Mother Goose-"Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling"
"The Happy Man and His Dump Truck"
Eric Carle's Animals, Animals "The Tortoise and the Hedgehog"

Language Arts
DEL- The boys looked at a number and had to circle the same number one minute later from a row of number.  Both got 100%.  They then wre give a set of three commands and had to do them one minute later.  'A' can follow two commands easily, but struggles with three.  'R' can do one command easily, two occasionally, and cannot recall three after one minute.

Dr. Seuss' ABC- "D"

Science
We read more on plants.  We learned that mold is a plant that grows on food that is old.  Mushrooms are a fungus and grow from specks called 'spores'.  A Venus Flytrap is a carnivorous plant that eats insects and frogs.  (We watched  video of this.)  Poison ivy is a vine that has three leaves and is shiny.  Don't touch it or you will get skin blisters.

Reading
'A' read the page in Dr. Seuss' ABC- "D"

Math
The boys practiced writing numbers 1 to 10 on a dotted worksheet.

Bible
We read about Solomon using wise judjment over the two women wiht one child/We also read taht he built a temple for God.

Language Arts
DEL- 'A' had to look at a face with a shape below it.  Then, he had to find the same face below and copy the shape.  'A' just practiced drawing shapes.

Science
BB Book of Science and Nature-We read more on plants.  We read that: flowers make the seeds for plants to reproduce, that a cactus can hold water and has prickles that hurt, that algae is a thick, green plant scum on the top of water, and that moss grows on trees.  As ferns grow, they uncurl.

Art Appreciation
We looked at three more pieces...
In the art book, we looked at a piece titled, "A Lawn Sprinkler, 1967, David Hockney.  I could not find it online, but found one similar.  This is titled, "A Lawn Being Sprinkled", 1967, David Hockney

Antibes, 1888, Claude Monet

Succession, 1935, Wassily Kandinsky (BTW: 'A' always laughs when I say 'Wassily'.  He says it's "Silly"!)

Life Skills
We just began a chapter on gift giving and read about birthstones.  'A' learned that his is either turquoise or zircon, and 'R's is aquamarine.  We looked at pictures of these online.

Math
We reviewed concepts of same/different, long/tall/short, big/small.  The boys also practiced writing the numbers 1-10.

Reading
'A' read a few pages from Bob Book Volume 2/book 5 'Samantha'.  I quizzed 'R' on his letters.  He has challenges with 'B', 'J', 'G', 'C', and 'M'.

We had MOPS yesterday and Bible Study today.  'A' had a bit of a cough and I did not feel comfortable taking him into his class, so I was going to have him sit in with my group.  But, 'Auntie Kirsten', our church's front office manager and good friend, offered to keep him with her.  For two hours!  How sweet is that?!
(BTW, it is killing me to not have a camera!  I need to change that soon!)

Bible
We read about Absalom, David's son, trying to take over his father's position, but failing.  We also read about David's youngest son, Solomon, who became king, and was faithful to God.  God gave Solomon good health and wisdom.

Memory Verse
Exodus 20:16 "You must not tell lies."

Read Aloud
Mother Goose-"Little Tommy Tittlemouse" and "The Hobby Horse"
'The Indian Cinderella' (adapted from a Native Canadian fable)

Language Arts
DEL- I verbally gave the boys a pair of words and they had to tell me whether they sounded the same, or different. ex. book/hook=different, no/no=same)  Both boys got all of them correct.
I gave the boys a set of five pictures and they had to tell me which items in the pictures do not belong in the bathroom.  Both boys got all correct.

Social Studies
Things People Do-We reviewed what doctors do.

Art Appreciation
Book of Art-'Colors'.  We looked at:

BLACK

Portrait of a Girl, Possibly Magdalena Luther, c.1535, Lucas Cranach the Elder

WHITE

Paul as Pierrot, c. 1925, Pablo Picasso

YELLOW

Girl with Sunflowers, c.1941, Diego Rivera

RED

Red Interior, Still-Life on a Blue Table, 1947, Henri Matisse

Life Skills
365 Manners... We read when it is appropriate (or not) to ask for an autograph from a celebrity or author.  You ask for one if it is a scheduled event at a store or play.  You do not interrupt them going about their normal life.  You also do not mail something for them to sign.

Math
Did not do today.  I was going to start Singapore Earlybird 2A, but have decided to spend extra time in 1A and 1B to make sure those concepts are mastered before moving on.  2A requires some motor skills in writing and both boys are not there yet.

Reading
'A' read half of Bob Book Volume 2, Book 5 'Samantha'
'R' read American Schoolhouse Reader 'E'