Sunday, April 29, 2007 - Our Adventure with Storm In The Night
We finished up our school week with Storm In The Night this afternoon. Due to a few unexpected interruptions we had a few things that needed finishing up. Oddly enough, after all the miles we've traveled, we found ourselves studying Tennessee this week. The library here has very little on the United States, much less the brake down of each state, so it was nice to have a little background information all ready on hand. With a few tidbits from the internet we had enough information to make due with.
The boys fully enjoyed having a "Tennessee" meal, all though I have to say I nearly pulled my hair out attempting to make biscuits without my trusty Bisquick Heart Smart. I know, what kind of person uses the "cheaty" method, the kind who doesn't eat biscuits very often! Our fried chicken was oven baked too, but the boys didn't mind one little bit. I promise you though, the potatoes really were potatoes!
With our journey of learning this week we touched some basic topics on punctuation. To my amazement Morgan informed me that he would like to do sentences with question marks because he liked to draw them best! I do not ever recall touching the topic of punctuation with him. I figured we'd get there eventually, and with all the books we read he's bound to pick it up. I guess he was two jumps ahead of me!
For math the boys enjoyed making patterns on their paper quilts as well as learning to tell time on the hour and on the half hour. Morgan is delighted to be able to look at the clock and really know what time it is. Of course he's only covered two of the major minute numbers, so we still have plenty of work there, all in due time.
Much to my amusement while doing vocabulary words Morgan was completely baffled as to the use of "errand" in our story. In the story the grandfather is telling his grandson a story (you should really read the book!) and he's telling a tale of when his dog, Melvin, was caught out in a storm. He told his grandson, "The day came when Melvin was off on some errand of his own." I explained to the boys that an errand is when you go out to do something, like pick up something from the shop, go to the library, drop off a video, post a letter. The list went on. Morgan sat there for a minute and then said, "Mom, exactly what kind of errand was Melvin on?" We had a lot of fun guessing!
The boys had a blast painting on real canvas today. We were working on blending colors (white and blue) to come up with varying shades for a storm cloud. We didn't have a proper scroll brush to work on raindrops, but Daddy and Morgan made do anyway. There's even a few yellow lighting bolts on the picture.
Thanks to the Lord's perfect timing we even enjoyed a few days of rain to go along with the book. None of the wild storms we are use to, all though I think Jayden is still on the ever present look out for thunder. This of course was not helped by his brother explaining that when we see green clouds it means a tornado is coming.
I'm so glad our science experiments had to wait until today, because we were able to use the rain to our complete advantage! I'm sure the neighbors might have wondered what was up with all the darting in and our and the whoops of laughter coming when the rain kept falling. The boys really love science, and they were completely delighted with the experiments we tried this week.
First we made some rain inside on our own. We stretched a bit of felt over a wide mouthed jar and rubberbanded it in place. Next we each guessed exactly how many raindrops our felt cloud could take before it spilled them down like rain. We figured Morgan was going to be way off with his guess of 98, but half the fun for them is seeing who comes closest to being right. So off Daddy went one drop of water at a time, letting it gently drip onto our felt. When we rounded the 30's we just looked at each other and kept right on counting. When we hit the 70's Morgan said, "Have I won!" It took exactly 87 drops of water before our poor felt cloud could hold no more. Morgan did, indeed, come closest to having the correct guess.
Next we decided to see what raindrops look like up close and personal. So the boys took their newly painted umbrellas outside and held out a piece of dark colored paper. We then ran back inside and looked at them with our magnifying glasses. Morgan was really amazed by all the different shapes and sizes. He was very sure they'd all be the same.
Lastly we each took a turn guessing which puddle outside would dry up first. The one in the sand, the dirt, the grass, or the concrete. Jayden guessed the dirt and was right on with that guess too. I figured with the ground being so dry the grass would drink it up just as quickly, but it was a step behind the dirt. Daddy figured the sand would get it soaked up first, and Morgan picked the concrete. We all learned something new today!
We also took a mini poll to see who likes rain and who doesn't. The idea was to graph the results, but we had more fun decorating our giant raindrops and never officially counted the votes. All though most us of were very grateful for the rain, so I believe Jayden was the only one frowning over the weather. I suspect this had something to do with the fact that he wanted to ride his bike..
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Sunday, April 22, 2007 - Our Adventure With Mr Gumpy's Motorcar
This week we set off on our adventure with Mr Gumpy's Motorcar. Honestly speaking, I didn't feel as excited about this unit study as I had about some of our others, but I figured the boys would be excited because this book involved a car.
On Monday we set sail for London. This is the boys very favorite place to read about. I need to find them a really good book that's there level for this city! In the meantime we colored some pictures of Paddington, Peter Pan, Big Ben, and a Double Decker Bus. The boys were so excited to learn that Paddington and Peter hail from England considering these characters sit up on the same shelf as Peter Rabbit does!
We looked at pictures online of Paddington station, all the boys felt the picture we saw of Paddington's statue looked a bit more "piggish" then "bearish". We saw the London Eye, the Hour of Parliment, and Buckingham Palace as well. Then we topped it off with reading "Paddington's Day Out". It was true Paddington style, and had some terrific art work in it as well.
We topped off Monday with an English dish of Shepherd's pie which we ate while watching Garfield 2. The boys were tripping over each other to point out all the sights we'd read about earlier. They were fascinated with the double decker buses because they finally put it together that Bulgy (from Thomas the Tank) is also a double decker.
On Tuesday we talked about Onomatopoeia, how's that for a mouthful? Again, the boys amazed me with how much they remember. We'd grazed this word and it's meaning for about two seconds when we read Peter Rabbit a month ago. They then proceeded to list off all sorts of things that can make noise on a car, we made a quick list of the onomatopoeia words and stashed it in their notebooks. We did a few vocabulary words, and then spent the day looking for a lane so they could see one up in person.
Wednesday we counted all the many animals and children that Mr Gumpy (Jayden refuses to call him anything but Mr GRumpy) gave a ride to. The boys then cut out pictures of a dog, cat, two chickens, goat, pig, lamb, rabbit, boy, girl, cow, and man. We found a car with a striking resemblance to Mr Gumpy's that we pasted on a paper and then filled up with all these friends.
We also tried our hands at using oil crayons. I remember the set we had as kids, all though I think they may have been much better quality then the ones I picked up for two dollars! Even still Morgan managed a really terrific sunset picture. He was very pleased with it even after he saw my picture. I was happy with that as he's taken to thinking his bits of art should be better once he sees how mine has turned out.
Morgan also drew a terrific picture of Big Ben (complete with 9:00 on it!) and a double decked bus full or tourists (I think they might have been us..) stopping in front for a quick picture. The picture has landed in their notebook, I really enjoyed watching him think it out as he drew it.
Thursday we finished up our week with science. This week we studied clouds. We only touched on some of the very basic clouds out there, but Morgan was thrilled with it. He was eager to take the book outside and see what clouds we had in the sky. He's been taking a good look each day since then too. The boys made little cloud books too in order to help them remember which clouds are which. Morgan wasn't seen without it until today when I was able to stick it in his notebook for safe keeping. He's enjoying watching the skies in hopes of being the first to warn us that it's going to rain or worse yet that a tornado is on it's way!
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Sunday, April 15, 2007 - Our Adventure With Madeline
This week we're rowing Madeline. While I knew the book would be a fun study I wasn't sure how the boys would take it. They are pretty much easy to please so long as they are learning something new, but this book was, after all, about a girl. If they had any doubts these were blown away when their favorite line of the book was read.. "And to the lion at the zoo, Madeline said "Poo Poo"."
Jayden rolls with laughter when he knows were on the right page. In fact they both know this line of the book by heart, but would much rather hear someone else quote it to them. You might be lucky enough to hear them say if they can stop giggling long enough to spit the words out!
Our studies led us to France this week. The boys took quickly to the Eiffel tower, and I asked them how long they thought it might take us to climb all 1665 steps. They both agreed with Daddy that they'd rather take the elevator to the top. I was the only one willing to climb the steps! They have taken to shouting "I see the 'Tower' Mom!" when they see a photo of it now. We tried a French recipe for lamb Kebabs which the boys thought were great fun to eat since they came on a stick!
On Tuesday Morgan tried his hand at writing a poem. He did really well considering this is the first time he's ever tried to rhyme words with a real purpose other then driving me insane. He opted to write his poem about Madeline:
Madeline is tiny,
Her hair is red and shiny.
She was quite ill,
but not from a spill.
It was her appendix,
the doctor did "mend-its".
She got a house,
not from a mouse.
From her Poppa,
who was on "toppa".
She had some candy,
it was quite dandy.
She got some flowers,
they gave her powers.
She has a scar,
it's not too far
From her tummy,
she showed her Mummy.
Her friends were sad,
because they had,
no toys or candy,
and didn't feel so dandy.
They sure were trying,
with all that crying,
Poor Miss Clavel was really flying.
"Thank the Lord," she said,
this poem is really over!
He also wrote a story entitled "Five Friends Help Out" which is about a hermit crab named Henry who owns a pet elephant. It was really cute, all though he lost track of attempting repetition. Instead he found himself lost in thought about The Great Wall Of China which he still wants to go visit. He's convinced that Uncle Damien didn't have a proper look over that wall when he was there because, as Morgan says, "there MUST be something more then trees and wall on the other side!" In his story some men were fixing the wall and Henry's friends got to kick down the broken bit.
Morgan even tried his hand at illustrating a few pictures to go along with it. Giving, of course, the most time to the picture where the five friends got to help kick the wall down. He was really pleased with himself for coming up with that idea for his story. The object, you might ask, for kicking it down? To create a short cut to get Tiny the elephant some peanuts!
With Easter fast approaching we took advantage of the similarities of there being 12 girls in our story and matching it up with the 12 disciples. The boys were impressed to hear the various names of all the men who helped Jesus, all though we got way laid for a few minutes when they were in shock that Peter Rabbit was one of the helpers. When I denied this fact they said, "But Mom you SAID Peter!" I clarified that this was a man not a rabbit. Morgan was accepting of this information, but when I said Thomas and James Jayden was sent over the moon because he is convinced that this means his Thomas trains new Jesus.
The boys rented every Madeline movie they could find at the local video shop and watched them in turn. Their favorite seems to be Madeline Lost In Paris, which I think is only because there is a villain in the movie who, at least for Jayden, is worth pretending to be for a short time. So Jayden proceeded to draw some pictures of Madeline (he didn't do half bad either!) and then chop them up. (In the video the villain threatens to cut off Madeline's hair..)
We talked about counting by 2's on Wednesday, which worked well. We were able to find some small pictures of Madeline and her friends to glue on a paper and see why it was easier to count by 2's for some things.
For science this week we read about the human body. This was top notch with both boys. When we were doing vocabulary words on Monday Morgan told Jayden not to worry if he didn't know what an appendix was, "Mommy will teach us in one of those books, just you wait and see!" So of course each book of the human body that we checked out had to be scanned so we locate the appendix in each one. Somehow Jayden is still convinced his appendix is in his arm?!
The boys then made little booklets with their favorite health foods listed inside, Picked out a healthy snack recipe and made a shopping list so they could get what they needed to make them. Of course after we got home they made their snacks right away. Jayden was a little disappointed that his popsicles would need to be in the freezer for a while before they'd be frozen enough to eat.
It was a good week, and the boys are still talking about Madeline. They've made us walk to the car in "two straight lines" more times then I can count. They enjoy taking turns being Pepito (the little boy who lives next door) and Madeline while chasing each other around. I don't think this will be a book they will soon forget!
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Monday, September 25, 2006 - Our Adventure with How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World
This week we rowed How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World. We took a mini trip around the world this week with the character in the book who found that the market she was going to purchase apple pie ingredients at was closed. We had a lot of fun locating the various countries on the globe, and Morgan was most impressed that Italy is shaped like a boot, and that they consider the smaller island the soccer ball the boot is kicking! Jayden was more impressed with England and it's famous Big Ben.
Our first day with the book we stopped in on Italy. We read a few fun books, learned to count from 1-10 (all though at the moment I can only recall 1-3) and read about various things that originated in Italy. The boys didn't even seem to mind that the book was written about a little girl. We wrapped up the night with our own version of Chicken Parmesan.
On Tuesday we went to France. We read several books, and even enjoyed one about a little girl and her family who live in France. The boys didn't seem to mind that the main character was a girl, all though they felt she was pretty silly as the cover of the book had her posing with a flower in her mouth! We were suppose to enjoy Quiche Lorane (pardon my phonetical spelling here), but it took far longer then expected to bake. So instead we all enjoyed a pot of delicious home made Chicken and Rice soup and a loaf of fresh French Bread. It's harder to say if the boys liked the bread of the blueberry jam more.. Either way they really enjoyed sharing it with their Aunt and cousin.
On Wednesday we arrived in England with a brief lay-over in Sri Lanka. We read several books about England, and Morgan is now mystified why there's a statue where the man is missing one arm. While the book stated it wasn't truly noticeable because of how high up it was, not to mention it's size, Morgan is certain that with his binoculars he will be able to locate the flaw. He also wanted to know why the Queen had such a big yard if she didn't go out and ride her bike or play soccer in it. Jayden was more caught up in Big Ben and the soldiers who guard the palace. I'm not entirely sure why these things caught his attention, but they did.
We enjoyed a quick book about Sri Lanka. Morgan was more fascinated with their flag which has a golden lion upon it. He wanted to color his copy of the flag exactly the same. I'm not sure his yellow is golden, as he used a yellow highlighter, but one thing is certain His flag will not be lost no matter how dark the house is! We wrapped up the day with coconut chicken and Curried Rice & Vegetables.
Thursday found us in Jamaica. We enjoyed reading about the quieter Island life as we followed a small family through their day. We also found that amongst other things Jamaica is big on it's yams, which are not to be confused with a sweet potato. And here we thought they were the same thing! The boys were impressed that some of the big buildings look the same here as they do there. We all enjoyed seeing the huge bunch of bananas they harvest off the trees. Morgan was most pleased to notice the little boy from our main Jamaica story in another book we read too. We wrapped up today with "Beefy Jamaican Turnovers", which are very simple to make.
The boys weren't as pleased with them because they felt the content was too spicy. I should have been prepared for that as neither of them prefers any seasoning on their chicken when it's cooked! They did not, however, snub the banana fritters that Daddy made.
Friday, our final day with our beloved Apple Pie book. We stopped in on Vermont and located their tastiest apples and maple syrup. We did the simple subtraction fact that was located in the book. Morgan now knows that if we pick 8 apples and give one to the cow, one to the chicken, and eat one ourselves we will have 5 left for our pie. Today is also science day! The boys favorite.
We finished up our study on the 5 senses for now. We were down to sight experiments. While I had a couple planned we opted to only do one of them. We each took a turn being blindfolded and then drew a picture of a snowman. I have to say that some of these snowmen aren't half bad looking! We also enjoyed reading a book called D.W.'S Glasses and then making a fun pair of paper glasses to wear. The boys decided to show the neighbors their glasses as well, which caused a few chuckles.
To wrap up our 5 senses study we read The GingerBread Man and made cookies too. The boys were delighted to see they each had their own little gingerbread man cookie cutter, but more impressed to be able to eat the cookies as soon as they were cool enough to touch! After eating all the cookies, they weren't hungry for dinner, so we opted to save our Vermont meal for Saturday.
Today we made our apple pie! It took Morgan an hour to peel one apple, but he was determined to do it all by himself! We'll be having Maple Orange chicken for dinner with Baked apples and cherries and of course the boys favorite, broccoli. Our apple pie turned out to be huge, but I'm here to say there's not a single bite left!
That's right, the entire pie was eaten up, and boy was it delicious. We even topped it with Vermont Ice cream (read Ben & Jerry's Vanilla) as a special treat. It has been decided that Thanksgiving (the only time we normally eat apple pie) can most certainly not come soon enough. Wow, you know this means everyone might actually eat all the apple pie up before the other pies!
Our journey ended with How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World, but the boys haven't stopped talking about it. When Jayden was looking through their school scrapbook he spotted a picture of the book and told us, "That's the get the cow, get the sugar, get the egg book!" I'm not sure his title was any shorter then the actual title of the book.
We've even enjoyed trying some new apples, which just so happened, (Thank you Lord!) to be at Wal-Mart this week. I'm officially hooked on the Michigan HoneyCrisp apple. Morgan's not opposed, but since his favorite is still green, he prefers the Golden Delicious. Jayden didn't care as long as he could dip them in something. Daddy is still protesting apples after his stint of working at the apple farm.
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Saturday, September 16, 2006 - Our Adventure With Gramma's Walk
These past two weeks we based our unit study out of the book Gramma's Walk by Anna Grossnickel Hines. We opted to study North Carolina with this book. Morgan was delighted to know that Tennessee touches North Carolina, but disappointed to know it would still be a long drive to get there. I was interested to learn that North Carolina is apparently one of the only places in America where the Venus fly trap grows wild!
We've read a bookshelf full of books about the ocean and things that grow and live there. Morgan decided to cling on to the hammerhead shark. I asked him if he'd like to see one, and his response was, "Well, do they eat people?"
"Only sometimes, but I think it's when they feel they have to."
"I'm a people, and I don't want to be eaten by a shark!"
"Don't worry, I don't think we'll be seeing any around here."
"Okay, then maybe I would like to see one, but only if it's not a mean one!"
We took the morning last Thursday and went to the "beach". Mind you, we don't have ocean here in Tennessee, but we do have a few lakes. We opted to go to Center Hill Lake. It's been ages since we've been there, and with school in session we figured it would be peaceful.
It was indeed peaceful, but I was shocked by how low the water level was. This didn't bother the boys who set about right away making a sand castle just like the one in our story. Then we wandered around looking for shells. We found many, some of which still had things living in them.. We watched a few boats come and go and the effects it had on the water.
Before we left we were sitting in the sand having a late morning snack when we heard a quack. Then within seconds there's a female mallard duck next to us and a Canadian Goose. I'm talking close enough you could have reached out and touched them!
We're not unfamiliar with ducks and geese, as we have both living right out front by the pond. However, the Canadian Geese are very protective of their young, and as they hatch out at least a half dozen goslings each spring we're lucky to see them without needing binoculars.
Jayden was so pleased that the Goose was this close he kept asking if he could pick it up. He's very into animals and wants to be very hands on with them. I advised against it and suggested we just toss them some of our crackers. The goose was very pleased with this and just as pleased with the apple chunks we shared.
Apparently geese do not like yogurt covered raisins. It attempted to eat one before walking off to the water. The duck stuck around for a few minutes before she flew off to catch up with her friend. I had to laugh because when she took flight her wings made a squeaking noise!
We rounded out our study of this book with more 5 senses experiments. This time we zoned in on Touching, Smelling, and Hearing. The boys had a blast hearing funny sounds on the computer and guessing what they were. Jayden was sure that every sound was either a lion or a train.
We had them sit at the kitchen table with their eyes closed while Daddy put their hands on something or put something under their noses. They really surprised me with their ability to guess what things were by touching them. They didn't do bad with sniffing either. All though they had a hard time identifying the soap. Morgan commented how it smelled like "home".
We've opted not feast on anything this week as seafood really isn't something we like around here. What a pity, I know, but...
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Sunday, September 3, 2006 - Our Adventure With Lentil
This week we were back to our unit studies with the book Lentil by Rober McCloskey. This meant we were off to Hamilton, Ohio. We didn't really go, but we enjoyed reading some books about Ohio. The boys were pleased to know Mommy has been through Ohio many times. They were less pleased to hear that Mommy thought driving through Ohio was a long trip and that it wasn't much fun. However, I think I won them back by pointing to a picture in one of the books and saying "Oh! I've seen that on my trips through Ohio!"
This week we learned about many American Icons. The boys are officially hooked on the bald eagle. Jayden is infatuated with the Statue Of Liberty. Morgan enjoyed saying the Pledge Of Allegiance, and I over heard him saying it by himself. It was all I could do to surpress a giggle when he said "I pledge allegiance to the flag and to God and to my school things. Amen!"
I had the pleasure of explaining the Boston Tea Party to both Lawrence and Morgan. The first thing I said was that we were going to learn about a Tea Party, but it wasn't the girlie kind where we sit and drink tea. When I mentioned there would be boats, Indians, and other such things Morgan was instantly hooked.
I found a fantastic book at the library about the Boston Tea Party. It was really a picture book, but well written. The pictures were beautifully done as well and really held Morgan's intrest. For those interested it was The Boston Tea Party by Pamela Duncan Edwards.
We learned about Betsy Ross and tried our hands at 5 point stars with just one snip. Boy did that take some time to figure out! The directions we had weren't exactly the clearest, and the diagrams included were shady. However, I refused to give in until I figured it out, and during nap time I managed to master the skill! They aren't kidding when they state that once you learn it you'll be hooked and making far too many.
We all tried our hands at charcoal art as well. Oh my, how interesting that was! Not to mention MESSY!! We had fun though, and some of the pictures drawn were rather interesting. Morgan drew a cute picture of our hero, Lentil as well as a picture of God watching his family.
This week we learned about David and Goliath as well as Cain and Able. When the boys were discussing these stories with each other they seemed hooked on the roughest parts. Oh me.. They delighted in using their Cain & Able crafts to reinact the story of Cain whacking Able. When Gram-Gram asked them what happened in the story, the boys didn't miss a beat, "One brother was mean and whacked the other brother with a big stick and that made him fall dead!"
Much to my delight, despite this being the part they were hooked on, they really did walk away with a bit more. Morgan went on to share that "Cain had to wander around forever because he could never go home again." They loved the story of David and "The big giant". I believe Jayden's favorite part was being Goliath and falling down, over and over...
We finished up our week with learning about one of the five senses -- taste. In our book a person named "Old Sneep" attempted to ruin a homecoming by sucking on a lemon. How excited Morgan was to learn he'd get to taste a lemon. He was sure they'd taste yummy because he loves lemonade and lemon popsicles.
The look on his face when he took a bite of lemon was priceless. He put his lemon wedge down, looked at it for a moment and tried again. He concluded with, "That's strange, I thought lemons would be nice because lemonade is nice!" hehe The boys enjoyed taste testing many things, especially when they saw chocolate on the tray!
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Sunday, August 27, 2006 - A Week Off -- All Ready?
We took the week of following our study with Make Way For Ducklings. We found out on Monday that we had to be in Atlanta, GA by 11 EST the next day. So we decided to pack our bags and head out right then and there!
We needed to get a second x-ray done for my overseas visa. The Dr's office is only open a few days a week, so when they told us they had an appointment open that soon, we jumped.
Ironically enough as we traveled we were using a digital map system in the car. I didn't really think much about the fact that the week before we'd studied maps. Morgan did not forget. When we stopped off at a rest area and he saw they had free maps, he wanted to stock up! For the rest of our trip Morgan and Jayden enjoyed telling me which road I should be taking according to their maps. Back seat driving certainly took on a whole new meaning! hehe
We enjoyed a trip to the firehouse on Monday before all the rest of the hub-bub started. It was the same firehouse we took a tour of for Morgan's birthday last year. However, this trip was a bit different. We went with the local MOM's club and most of the children were 4 or younger. In fact, I think Morgan was the oldest child there!
It was a nice trip though, and I was glad we were able to make it. Jayden was so young when we were there for Morgan's birthday I'm not sure he remembers much. While Morgan has never laid his passion for fire engines down completely, it is Jayden who's passion runs through him day and night.
Jayden can even mock the fire engine siren and tell us a good mile away which emergency truck it will be. I don't think we've stopped being amazed at the fact that he's usually right!
Anyway, the trip was a blast for the boys. They loved asking tons and tons of questions, and it makes the Firemen's day when the kids do this. Morgan was delighted to find out there was a fireman on duty named Morgan as well. Never mind that it was the man's last name. Anyway, Firefighter Morgan came out in full gear to show the kids what he'd look like if he ever had to rescue them.
None of the children wanted to go near Firefighter Morgan when he was dressed like this, but our Fearless Morgan bounded up to the man and said, "I can't believe this! My name is Morgan too!!" I believe an instant friendship was bonded. The man took of his gear and asked Morgan if he could read the name on the back of it and then let our Morgan wear it. There was something all most scary about seeing that, but the picture is priceless.
The boys made such an impression on the firemen that after the Firefighters were done saying their good-byes they came up to Morgan and told him that he could come back anytime because they'd love to see him again. This of course made Morgan's day!
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Monday, August 21, 2006 - Our Adventure With Make Way For Ducklings
This week we're off to Boston (only in theory..). The unit study this week is based on the book Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. I'm trying to tie unit studies together, in some small way, with their science themes. So, while we've moved on to Boston geographically, we're still learning about ducks.
We were tickled pink to find pictures on-line of Boston, and more importantly of the Boston Common Gardens where the book takes place! Of course the book is fictional, but the places aren't. In fact, there's actually statues of Mrs. Mallard and all of her ducklings in line behind her in the garden! We were able to see and print out pictures of this as well. The boys were delighted!
Jayden was very pleased to read this story all week, he just loves being able to count the little ducklings out. Morgan loves the fact that all the ducklings names rhyme and has done a fantastic job of remembering their names as well. I have to add that his favorite duckling, by far, is Quack. While Quack has no greater role in this book then any other duckling, I think it's the name alone that fascinates him.
Morgan was excited to make a map of the route that Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings took from their nesting ground to the Boston Common Garden. He was equally excited to draw his own map. He's been fascinated with maps for longer then I can remember, I think it ties in with his passion for pirates.
They were excited to read about Moses again. Yes, the story of Moses truly tied in with our studies this week. After all he had a wonderful mother who protected him from certain death. More importantly she taught him all she could before he had to go live in the Palace. It's funny how I see these Bible "stories" in such a different light now that I'm the Mom. While I find Moses' mother as loving for hiding him in the river, I find her twice as courageous for being able to hand her son off to another women to raise. The mysterious ways of God..
Science day was as welcomed this week as much as it was last. All though Jayden was a bit disappointed we weren't going to make boats and sink them. hehe We did "duckie" experiments this week. We learned so many fun things. The boys learned how duck bills work, the life cycle of a duck, and why ducks waddle. I think the neighbors may have had a few giggles over the last one.
The boys donned flippers and attempted to walk around. Jayden was very pleased with the slapping sound that his flippers made when he walked so he insisted on wearing them to the hobby store! Oh, what giggles people had, if they only knew how much he was laughing as he made such loud slapping noises as he moved!
We even managed some feather art this week. Does that sound strange? The boys attempted to paint with various feathers. Some of the effects were stunning! They enjoyed scratching their names in the paint with the quill end of the feather the most, especially when Morgan saw how easy it was to rub out a mistake with the other end of his feather! hehe
Our feast this weekend wasn't as grand, but the boys enjoyed drooling over the Boston Cream Pie until it was served. Morgan is still wondering why it's called a pie when it looked so much more like a cake. I think the best part was when the ducks from the pond wandered up and the boys were delighted to throw them some bird seed!
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Monday, August 14, 2006 - Our Adventure With Ping
School is under way here in the Cooke Household. We've started the school year off with a unit study based on the book The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack. We learned about China and the boys have really fallen in love with it. Morgan wants to see the Great Wall Of China, and was very excited to talk with Uncle Damien as Uncle Damien has been to China.
We made many duck crafts, studied about buoyancy, and learned about Jonah. The boys favorite subject by far is science. They love coloring and cutting and gluing, but nothing compares to their passion for science experiments. They went head over heals crazy when I told them it was science day!
We read a stack of books about why things float, and then put our knowledge to work. We each made our own boat out of foil and tested to see if they would float. Morgan made, what we all thought, was the least sturdy boat. However, his floated very well, and took the most rocks to sink. That's right, after we made our boats float we attempted to sink them!
We used various objects from around the house to see which things would float and which wouldn't. Then we guessed on wether we thought they'd float or sink. The boys did really well with their guesses. The biggest shocked, was exactly how much information Morgan absorbed.
Daddy dropped a ball of clay in our bucket and it sunk straight to the bottom. When Morgan fished it out I asked him what he could do to make that ball of clay float. Without missing a beat he said "Change it's shape!" He then set about making a floatable bit of clay. Yeah Morgan!
We enjoyed trying out chopsticks and tasting some Chinese food we cooked. Everyone seemed to enjoy everything that was made, and of course no one was willing to pass up a chance to use chopsticks! Saturday, we enjoyed making Chinese dumplings (boy is that time consuming, but worth it!), Chinese Almonds Cookies, Chinese Eggrolls (we cheated and bought the pre-made vegetarian ones!), Pork Lo Mien, and Strawberry Wonton Cups. Needless to say no one went hungry at that feast!
The boys ended the week by sharing all their new found information with Gram-Gram and Poppy. We've tucked all their "papers" and such into a book for them to show-off. I'm truly amazed at how much they share with others when that book is pulled out.
They can't wait for Monday!
