'12/13 Week 29 Day 5

Sweet school day. I wish, every day was like today. 

Again, I let the kids play outside for about 10-15 minutes before we started our classes. It seems to suit them and me well. They get to run off a bit of energy, get their lungs full of oxygen, and explore the morning fields which can be full of treasures, like the poor half frozen moth Andrew found.

Our Math class has not seen this much running around kind of activity in a long time. We continued our studies of 3D shapes or solids and after reviewing the ones that we already were familiar with, I launched a house-wide scavenger hunt for shapes. It was a lot of fun! We organized all of them in categories and discussed the ones that did not make the cut and why they did not suit the group (like Andrew thought his flat pillow would be a cube). 

I sound like a broken record, but I and the kids are enjoying our vocabulary learning time so much more now that we are doing it during the day. One more big benefit is that I can use the computer without much hassle to pull up pictures of objects the kids are confused about. Anything from cobblestones and wagon jacks, to dikes and stork nests on wagon wheels. Great time of reading, learning, and exploring. I have created a board on Pinterest just for that purpose. http://pinterest.com/millscreek/the-wheel-on-the-school/

Saara combined a few subjects in her reading task today. She read and followed the instructions and completed a science project about starting seeds. 

In History, Andrew got his first glimpse of the early American native tribes and the Mayan culture. He was very interested in the ball games the Mayans played. :o)

Andrew's 'morning moth'.

  

 Learning 3D shapes. On the computer I have open The 3D Sorting Activity from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Our 3D 'loot'. Saara's baseball cap does belong with the cones because it has a picture (logo) of a volcano on it.

Saara busy with her reading/reading comprehension/following instructions/science/fine motor skills task.

Andrew's Second Game: Bulls vs Grasshoppers, and Saara's Third Game: Volcanoes vs Iron Pigs

It was so incredibly cold! Everyone was shivering. It did not matter how many layers of clothing you had on, it was still cold. I felt terribly sorry for the kids on the field. But they braved it out. 
At the same time, I can not imagine the amount of jackets and coats, etc. the folks next door in the Bombers' field should be wearing tonight as they are trying to set the world record in the longest baseball game. While our kids were having their games, we heard a few good cheers from that direction. All for a good cause even through a bitter cold weather.

Run, Saara, run!

Note the parents all wrapped up.

'12/13 Week 29 Day 4

Andrew and Saara were absorbed in their books all the way to the library and all the way back. And they were actually reading. Both of them. 

I am thankful that the cold and grayish day outside that is holding me in a fuzzy daze has not affected the kids. Andrew was very focused and attentive during his history and science classes. And that was pretty much it. A short but good school day.

Uhm... kids, we are here! Unstrap, let's go!

Saara finding rhyming words.

'12/13 Week 29 Day 3

I am so glad, I decided to do the vocabulary learning and reading comprehension during the day rather than before bedtime. Andrew (and Saara too) remember the story so much better, they answer my questions better, and they recognize and explain the new words in the story better as well. The most wonderful thing - we all are enjoying the book so much more. 

In Science, I have noticed, Andrew likes studying about nutrition more than about genes and hormones. Today we read more about the five food groups and nutrients and what they are good for. 

The sad thing about today was that we were not able to go outside. It was raining on and off all day. Hopefully, tomorrow the sun will show itself to us.

'12/13 Week 29 Day 2

They said it was going to rain and it did. I let the children play outside for a little while in the morning before the weather turned nasty. Any outdoor activity had to be postponed or canceled in the afternoon. That included also Andrew's baseball practice and Saaras third T-ball game.

Our school day was not much disturbed by the outside wet conditions. I was very pleased with Andrew for remembering the main facts about Alexander the Great's life. After reading a bit more about him, we watched a video about yet another wonder of the Ancient world - the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

We did a nice amount of cooking today as well. Saara read out loud a recipe for a spring salad in her High Five magazine. We are not much of asparagus eaters (at least have not been) and the kids even did not know what this funny looking vegetable was called. But they learned the name fast and also how to snap the stalks. I must say, their very first encounter with the vegetable was not a delicious kind. They did not like the dish, but I applauded them for being willing to at least try and not fuss about it. They also agreed that maybe a different recipe would work better.

The rest of the day was kind of slow, but fruitful nevertheless. 

I could not get the internet to work on the kids' computer this morning. We do rely on the technology quite a bit these days, don't we.

Snap!

Well, we could not go to the ball park this afternoon. But the kids were not too disappointed. They got a nice slice of Mom's Estonian strawberry cake at the end of the day.

'12/13 Week 29 Day 1

It was a busy day! I had no time to take pictures. I do not think, I had THAT much planned for today, but everything we did, we did it with all of our hearts and souls and minds. What is most important - we all enjoyed every minute of it. 

As I was printing out new Bible verses for Andrew and Saara, I wrote down one for me too. It has been a while since I have memorized any verses. I do it alongside with kids every week, but it would not hurt to add one more for my sake. 

Since we started Minor League and T-ball, our evenings have become very busy and our usual Read Aloud time before bed has not been happening for a while. Today, I changed the order of our Language Arts and Reading time. To incorporate the vocabulary learning and reading comprehension time in during the day made the LA time a bit longer, but it was actually more animated and active. For instance, I asked Andrew to act out words like 'to stride' or 'hobble' or 'to stand in awe', etc. Both kids thought it was a lot of fun. 
Saara's Read Aloud nursery rhyme brought us outdoors where I gave them a series of jumping directions - anything from jumping jacks to twirl and jump. 

Andrew seems to like Alexander the Great a lot. We galloped through his 13 years of conquering travels in ten minutes - it was a well presented story touching on the main points of Alexander's achievements, like the lighthouse and the library in Alexandria. We will talk more about him tomorrow, and might even watch a video about the lighthouse.

Sideways gallop.

Mid-air turn was their favorite jump. :o)

Andrew copying his new spelling words and Saara practicing her letter "R".

Andrew's Second Game: Bulls vs Hooks

During the Easter break, Andrew's team had a game against Hooks. It was a close one, but the Bulls showed good teamwork and were rewarded with victory. A couple of boys in Andrew's team have a very good batting arm. Once they hit, the ball went flying way over everyone's heads in the field. It was exciting! I found myself on my feet cheering for the right team for a change.