'13/14 Week 19 Day 3

The day was so busy, I had no time to take any photos. Nothing spectacular, just a lot of good-old schoolwork.

Science/PE. It was a perfect day for some outdoor exercise (as if the kids do not get enough every day when they are outside running, climbing, jumping, etc.) we went for a bike-ride (Andrew), jog (Saara), power-walking (Mom). I was proud of Saara who ran 1.5 miles and walked the rest of the way home. Our exercise session turned into a science class when we found some dry cattails by the road.

Saara's science reading today was all about seeds and how they travel. Weren't the seed-packed cattails just a perfect find?

'13/14 Week 19 Day 2

As expected, the ballet class was canceled. No snow fell, just a slight shower of sleet. But still, it was terribly cold outside.

We had a full day of schoolwork instead of the usual shortened 'ballet' version. Andrew took his seventh math test and scored 80 points out of 81. Well done! 
In history, we are bringing the Middle Ages to the end. Andrew and I read a lot about Gutenberg and how his invention started to change Europe. It was a lot to take in. I will have to dwell on the effects of the printing press a bit more to make sure Andrew does get how important it was.

Tomorrow is the first day of baseball registration. 

Bible. The prophesy about the future of Solomon's kingdom. The tribes are about to be divided up.

Ten pieces of fabric represent the ten pieces of the prophet's robe he tore up. Cutting fabric is not like cutting paper. It takes practice.

13/14 Week 19 Day 1

After a nasty cold spell, we had a couple of truly nice days. We used them to stomp around in our forest. And as usual, we found something. This time the something was hard evidence of a beaver family who obviously had decided to make their residence on our property. 

We had enough snow left on the second day that Andrew managed to build a miniature snowman.

Beavers. No doubt about it.

Andrew checking out the teethmarks.

And, of course, the dam itself.

We started our week as usual - by looking at the calendar and jotting down all the things that will take place this week. It feels like some board planning meeting. :)

I was rather surprised to see how well everything flowed today. We were able to finish EVERYTHING in good time (including lots of additional materials I inserted here and there in almost every class and a 'curiosity' break we took to watch a power company crew chop down some trees on our property).

Now, we are waiting for a second cold wave. It may well mean that Saara will not have a ballet class tomorrow.

Bible. The kids received their new memory verses this morning. Their song was ideal to sing in the sign language.

Math. Our math class was rather intense today. Saara needs some more practice in measuring a perimeter. So, we practiced, practiced, practiced.

Andrew is grasping the times table rather well, but he needs more practice with finding the missing number in problems. So, we practiced, practiced, practiced.

LA. In phonics we stepped into a new territory: the silent consonants. The kids have dipped their toes into this area before, but now we launched a full blown study on them.

The beaver-damaged trees were too close to the power lines, so the crew was out this morning finishing off the work the beavers had started. Andrew and Saara found the traffic cones quite spectacular.

'13/14 Week 18 Day 4

Snow Day! Seriously. Half the schools in our county started their day two hours later. Some pre-schools were closed altogether.
We, however, did a full day's worth of work and that included spending a lot of time outdoors playing in the snow (or in what resembled snow). The kids were clad warmly, but still after a while they got cold and came in for a cup of hot cocoa. And school work.

We were up long before the dawn. As soon as it got a bit lighter outside, we dashed out to check out the snowfall. Not much, but better than nothing.

Big chunks of ice.

Andrew piled up all the snow on the trampoline and he and Saara made snow angels.

"Mom, there's snow on the roof!"

I think, we have used the 'snow' tile only once before.

To contrast the dirty whiteness outside, I opened a box of brand new pencils for our Bible time activity.

Saara's vocabulary learning, science, and math happened to be all about measurements. So, I combined them all into one big class of measuring and weighing stuff.

The measuring continued in Andrew's science. We read and learned about owls. Here, from pencil to pencil, is the Eagle Owls wingspan (about 2 m).

This red-bellied woodpecker put a nice touch to the end of our school day. We have a family of owls living in the woods too. We hear them all the time. I suggested to the kids, we should go pellet hunting one day. Andrew is concerned if he would recognize a pellet when he saw one  "They look just like dog poop." :)

'13/14 Week 18 Day 3

The cold front is coming and may bring some SNOW! Now, wouldn't that be a treat.

Meanwhile, we had a very industrious school day despite the plummeting temps outside or the clogged up septic system that got a thorough service this afternoon. The kids were outside watching the men work until their fingers got too cold. I counted this as a 'get to know the different jobs around you ' experience.

Saara's Science. The deep sea creatures. After watching a few videos of the odd looking fish in the darkest parts of the ocean, we had to stumble over the Octonauts once again. A short video on the gulper eels would not hurt, I thought. So, I let them watch it.

Deeply focused on the deep sea creatures.

LA. Continuing with the tree-letter/consonant blends. Today, we were building bug jars.

'13/14 Week 18 Day 2

Today was filled with Legos. Not only did the kids play with their Legos during the breaks, but I found a few illustrative videos that were animated using Lego characters. 

Like the story of Absalom in the Bible. A fun little Lego-work I found on thebricktestament.com. I browsed through the other material on the website. Some interpretation I found a bit overdone and not appropriate for kids at all (purely my opinion). But the bits I used for today worked beautifully with the story I was reading from the Bible. 

Another Lego-themed video we watched was that of the battle of Crecy between England and France in 1346 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VBDGLlSIcw  I thought, it was a 'fun' introduction into the 100 Years War. We will get more serious from here.

Bible. Andrew's Bible song is kind of mellow and 'balletish' (the whole Psalm 121), so while we listen and sing along to it, Saara is treating us to a performance of interpretive dance. :)

'13/14 Week 18 Day 1

Yesterday was MLK Day and we spent it with our family and also caught up on some school reading tasks. 
Today then, we started our brand new week. As it was Saara's ballet day, we did as much schoolwork as we could fit it. It was good. 

Science. Reading Andrew's science book without watching some videos is not an option. :)

Geography. This Kindergartener can point out a number of countries in the world.