Sep. 22, 2009 Hammond's Candy Factory/First Day of Fall!
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Today our homeschool group went on a tour of Hammond's Candy Factory!
We had been there a year ago, but the kids didn't remember it. It was fun to go again! They have a long step in front of the window for the little ones to step up and see what's going on. No secret ingredient to their candies, we found out. Just corn syrup, sugar and candy, boiled to 330 degrees! Add different flavor and colorings, and voila!
We saw them pour it onto the table, spread it out, put it on a puller and stretch it, make ropes for candy canes and ribbon candy, cut it into pieces, and even package it all up!
We all got free pieces of vanilla sugar sticks, a piece of taffy, and extra large candy canes. Can you say 'sugar high!' lol None of the kids took a nap today, needless to say. Kate finally just crashed in my arms as I'm typing this story, and it's 6PM!
Here are some pictures from our tour!
Jack taking his free piece of taffy, right when you come in the door!
Stepping up to see through the window, looking at all the workers!
A guy shaping a huge piece of rolled candy
Candy in "the puller"
Free vanilla sugar sticks!
The tour guide was showing us where to get our free candy canes
In the gift shop
The kids and I!
We also celebrated the first day of fall! It's a tradition we've done for the last 3 or 4 years now.....we color different kinds of fall leaves, cut them out, and tape them to the front living room window!
When October comes, each of the kids gets to color their own pumpkin, and we'll tape them to the bottom of the window, under the leaves.
Meg's pink leaf!
Jack busy coloring
Ben colored a brown one!
All the kiddos working hard
Kate pondering something!
All done and taped up!
SMILE!
Meg (3 1/2), Jack (5), Kate (1 1/2) and Ben (6)
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Sep. 8, 2009 "Grammar Games" Co-op
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Today we had our first homeschool co-op class!
Just to explain in case you are confused...........
There are two parts to our local homeschooling group. The first part is your basic playdates at the park, talking online and getting support, advice and ideas from other homeschooling moms in your group, field trips, etc.
Then, if you want to take it a step further, you can enroll in co-op classes. It's optional, and adds more things to your schedule, but well worth it. We didn't do it over the summer, but are doing it this fall. I think they basically do it 3 times a year. Summer, fall/winter and winter/spring.
Co-op is free. In order to enroll your child in any classes or activities, you need to lead one yourself! It can be learning about schoolwork, a field trip, or just getting together and doing something fun. Since this is all new to me, I opted to host something 'fun'. I opened a Christmas Cookie Decorating co-op on December 15th. (Off the topic, but only 1 family signed up! Haha!! My listing was on the 2nd page, and not many of the 2nd pages classes were chosen. My sister is coming over with her 3 kids on that day as a pity slot! lol)
Anyway, people post different classes, what it's about, and the age restrictions. In a couple posts ago, I wrote exactly what I signed the kids up for.
Today was just for Ben! It was called "Grammar Games". They learned all about synonyms and antonyms, alliteration, onomatopoeia's and homonyms. Whew! It was held at one of the local libraries, in a meeting room.
He had a blast! I explained to him ahead of time that I might have to leave and just keep checking in on him, because it would be really really boring for Jack, Meg and Kate, and hard for them to sit there for 2 hours and be quiet! lol
I was right. I stayed for about 15 minutes and that's all the other 3 could take. So we left the room and went into the children's section. They loved that! They played with some table games, read books, and just entertained themselves. We kept going back every 20 minutes or so to check in on Ben. He was doing just great!
There was a lot more writing involved than the teacher had said, and that worried me, but Ben actually did fine. There was another 6 year old boy across from him who couldn't write many words at all, so it made me feel better. The class was for ages 6 and up, and there was even a 10 year old in the group! So I was concerned Ben would be a little over his head, but I think it's also good for him to be around kids of all ages. Definitely not something he would get in a traditional school!!
It was a hectic day though, because we had taken yesterday off for Labor Day, and then we had to get all of our school in this morning before lunch! Co-op was 2 hours long in the afternoon. Then we came home and only took a 30 minute nap before Daddy got home, and then we had to go run an errand! Whew!! Luckily, we don't have anything 'extra' planned for tomorrow, so we'll be able to resume a more relaxed pace.
Here are some pictures from today!
The teacher was reading books about each specific type of grammar they were learning about.
Ben is in the yellow shirt in the middle.
The rest of the group played so nicely in the Children's area!
Jack read books to himself.
Meg read books too!
Kate even looked through books! I'm so glad they all love being read to.
When I came back to check on Ben, they were all writing examples of alliteration on their paper.
Hard at work!
Alliteration is words that all start with the same letter. He didn't get time to finish all of it though.
They wrote their names and then had to think of 2 words for each letter!
BEN
B - Basketball, ball
E - Eat, eels
He really had a lot of fun, and felt like such a grown-up little guy! I was glad too, because it gives him a great chance to socialize with kids of ALL ages and families. Also, I love that he knows how to respect other teachers besides mommy. That's important too! I probably wouldn't have thought to teach them this kind of grammar stuff at this age either, so it's good for them all to be learning so much!!
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Sep. 4, 2009 Meg and the Alphabet
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
So, Meg is 3 and I don't really do too much school with her. She picks up quite a bit, but I don't push her like I sometimes push the boys. I would rather sit and read with her, do puzzles, play with dolls, and things like that.
She knows all of her shapes (well, the common ones), her colors, and numbers. But letters aren't her strongest point.
She found some alphabet flashcards and really wanted to do them, so we sat in a chair together and I started flipping through them.
Me: (showing the letter B) Meg, what letter is this?
Meg: E?
Me: No, not quite. Which letter is this?
Meg: B!
Me: (surprised) Yes!! Great job, Meg!!
Me: (showing the letter P) Meg, what letter is this?
Meg: B!
Me: No.....close. What letter is this?
Meg: P!
Me: Yes!!!!
Me: (showing the letter E) What letter is this one?
Meg: B!
Me: No, we already did that one. This is a new one. What letter is this?
Meg: E?
Me: Yes!
Me: (showing the letter J) Meg, what letter is this?
Meg: B!
Me: No, try again. What letter is this?
Meg: E!
Me: Hhmm. No, not quite. Do you think you know what this letter is, or should I tell you?
Meg: (opens her eyes wide and smiles) I know! I know!
Me: Okay, what is it?
Meg: B!
Me: .............
Meg: E?
Me: ............
Meg: No, it's B!
Me: Meg, we JUST did B and E, so it's not either of those. Can you think of which letter it might be?
Meg: (whispering) That letter means the snow is coming!
Me: (totally confused) What?????
Meg: It's E!
Me: Actually, it's J. Okay, I think we're done for today. Good job, Meg!
I think I'll stick with my first instinct and save the flashcards for when she's older. LOL |
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Sep. 4, 2009 What do you do with your little ones?
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
To all you homeschooling moms out there.....you probably know what I'm talking about. The dryer is buzzing, the boys are wrestling and the girls are getting into your makeup. You announce it's time to do some school and try to get everyone's attention!
Ahh....finally. The boys are sitting down at the table, trying to do their math homework. It seems like they both have questions at the same time, and you are trying to answer them, fold laundry, and make sure they are using correct penmanship. The toddler is crying because she wants to be held, and the preschooler - who WAS nicely coloring at her little desk - is now coloring on the basement concrete floor, and has marker on her legs.
So, what do you do with your little ones???
I feel blessed that days like those are rare. Most of the time I can do short bits of school here and there, and keep them all mostly occupied. But some days are difficult, no doubt! I am glad the little ones love me and just want to be near us, and are interested in school, but some days it feels more like a distraction than a blessing!
I was thinking about getting a big blanket just for my girls. I would lay it out and they would have special toys just for those times, when everything is happening all at once.
I think I should be more consistent about doing Circle Time at the start of the day too, so that they are included in our school more, and feel like they have learned and contributed and feel special. Then maybe they wouldn't think they 'need' me so much while I'm working with the older boys?
I'm open to any suggestions, and tips that you do! |
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