Year 3: Exploring Countries and Cultures, ¡Hola Mexico!

     We've left the U.S and have entered Mexico for weeks 5 and 6.

     Our dining room is homeschool central, so before they could cross into the dining room I had to check their passports:

     From what I could see inside (along with the applications The Principal had to "process"), everything seemed legit *wink wink*.

     Halfway through our adventures in Mexico, we took a break to see family.  We were thrilled to see everyone.  We even got to squeeze in a little field trip:

Jelly Belly Factory

     Here's a tip for you when visiting the Jelly Belly Factory:  Plan on going during the week while the factory is actually operating.  Tours are held 7 days a week, even on some holidays BUT to actually see the factory in action, visiting during the weekdays are best.  Either way, you'll get free samples and will likely need a separate carry-on for the goodies you're going to bring back home!

     Since we took the week off, but were back from our trip with a few days left,  I gave the kids Highlight's Top Secret Adventures to work on.  I discovered these shortly after our decision to use My Father's World and thought they would be a wonderful supplement to the curriculum.  Of course, this particular top secret adventure was set in Mexico!

     They completed their adventure quickly, but enjoyed being secret agents in the process.  I liked that they had to find clues while reading about Mexico.

     Being in Mexico, we studied deserts.  Below are pictures of our experiment with transpiration.  In the first picture they are gathering their materials.  I had them write their hypothesis on the whiteboard.  The last picture shows them making their observations.

     

     Of course, a trip to Mexico would not be complete with a fiesta!  We had to decorate, so we made Papel picado.

We also made tissue paper flowers.

     We couldn't forget the sombreros!

     Then we decorated.

     Our neighbor down the street heard we were having a fiesta so she brought over a couple of sombreros for the kids to wear while we ate.  As Mariachi music played in the background we sat down to Carne Asada Nachos (the kids discovered nachos a few months ago and LOVED it) black beans, Pollo Asado (for mom and dad; we kept it Paleo) along with shredded lettuce, plantain chips, salsa and guacamole.

     As a special treat we got the kids some churros!  I don't know how authentic Mexican all of this was.  We had a busy day and I knew I could only do so much.  So, I did what I could.  Either way, we all had a wonderful time.  The kids had a blast and can't wait to see where we travel next.

     ¡Hasta luego!

Year 2, Weeks 28 and 29

     We ended Week 28 with a baking class and began Week 29 with Dr. Seuss projects.

     We signed up for a free baking class at Williams Sonoma.  It was a nice small class that the kids were able to do with a couple of friends.  They were able to taste different chocolates, from semi-sweet to baking chocolate.  They also learned how to line a baking pan with just a few folds of some parchment paper and a snip with the scissors (that was my favorite part).  The cake was already pre-baked along with some cupcakes for the kids to frost.  Still, this class went through each step of cake baking, from washing your hands before you start and also after separating eggs.  Pretty thorough for a free one-hour class!

     We started week 29 by making Oobleck and Truffula Tree Pens to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2nd.  Both of my kids did a presentation about Dr. Seuss for CC and handed out the goodies.  I even made green eggs using chocolate melts, but forgot to take the picture.  The Truffula Trees were easy (read:  boring) to make; just some hot glue and done.  The Oobleck was a lot more fun as you can see in the pictures:

     As you can see from the pictures above, my husband read them Bartholomew and The Oobleck, which is one of the few Dr. Seuss stories we've never read.  It has an interesting message (as they all do) and is one the kids enjoyed hearing.  Plus, they got to play with Oobleck!

Kindergarten, Week 24

      This week in our Sonlight curriculum I saw a little note letting us know that we only have 12 more weeks of school.  Wow!  I just know those weeks will come and go quickly.  I'm already in the midst of planning the curriculum for next school year.  I'm sure we'll use Sonlight again with just a few adjustments.  I'm looking into a different Language Arts and a different Math program because the ones we have progress too slowly for my daughter.  Perhaps that's actually a good thing as it gives it time to sink in.  I just don't want her to get bored.  With Math, I have to limit the amount of pages she completes in her workbook because she wants to finish all of it in one sitting.  I have to supplement with worksheets from Mama's Learning Corner (Sign up like I did and you get member exclusive printables, but her freebies great freebies too!)

     Week 24 took us into the first books of the New Testament.  My daughter was excited to know that we were going to read about the birth of our Savior, His humble beginnings and the work He did in such a short time.  It brought up conversations about heaven and who would be there and who wouldn't be there.  She said she would ask Mary, "Were you surprised to be the mother of Jesus?" and she'd ask the angel Gabriel, "How hard is it to fight Satan?"  She said she would also like to ask Jesus how it felt to rule the world with His love.  Yes, these are the kinds of conversations that come up every day when we read our Bible.

     This week I decided to start having the kids read their bibles (or devotional) independently every morning.  Though we read the Bible together daily, I liked the idea of them starting their morning with God before taking on the day; I wanted them to have their own quiet time with Him.  I probably should have started this sooner, but I wanted to get a feel for our school year and how much time we'd have in the morning before we had to bring A380 to school.  Plus, my daughter wasn't reading independently yet.  She is now though, yay!  Both she and her big brother plant themselves on the couch every morning after they're done clearing their breakfast dishes and getting themselves ready.  While they're doing that I'm either getting the morning chores done or spending my own time with our Father.  By the time they're done we discuss what they've read for a few minutes and then head out the door.  We take the time to pray together in the car on the way to my son's school before we part ways.

     My Little Toughie is so excited that she's able to read on her own that she created a bookmark by tracing her hand:

     Cute, right?  I like that her nails are colored.  There's an actual arm inside the book too, colored purple.  You can do this to get your kids excited about reading on their own.  When my daughter told me what she was making I gave her a sheet of cardstock to make it sturdier.  Works like a charm!  Or you can go ahead and use paper but cut it out and either stick it onto a piece of a cereal box (or some sort of thin cardboard) and then trim that out.

     That's all for now.  Have a wonderful week!

For more ideas visit:

Kindergarten, Week 21

     In my last post I mentioned that we were already in the middle of Week 21.  I'm not even sure how we got through that week with all the things I had to cross off of my to-do list, but we did!

     Our week began with a last minute painting party.  We were invited to join other CC families to view the Christmas lights at nearby neighborhood.  Every house in this cul-de-sac goes all out with Christmas lights and décor.  It's closed off to vehicles so only foot traffic is allowed.  We wanted to do a quick, but cute craft with a couple of friends before heading out and luckily I had all the supplies so we went for it!


      We had canvas, paints, foam brushes and paper plates.  We had one foam brush for each kid, which was all we needed to get paint on the their hands.  Can you tell what was going to happen?

    
     My son couldn't wait to get the paint off of his hands, which is why his hands are almost clean.  My daughter, on the other hand, couldn't get enough paint on hers!  Below is their finished pieces.

     I baked Chocolate Peppermint Muffins to share with the other families we were meeting at the block display and asked The Principal to pick up some hot chocolate to share as well.  As soon as he got home we headed out.

     We got to our destination and shared our goodies.  This year the weather was perfect.  In previous years every time we've gone to see this Christmas display it's been cold and wet.  No umbrellas required this year!  We even had enough muffins and hot chocolate to share with strangers after our CC friends had their fill.  That was my favorite part.  People were amazed that we were just giving it away when they tried to pay us.  I think it's something we may do again next year!

     A lot of our stories this homeschool week were about sharing the Good News.  I'd like to think that the small gesture of giving away hot chocolate and freshly baked muffins to strangers reminded them about the Christ in Christmas.

     Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!



When Life Hands You An Empty Tissue Box...

     Make a banjo!

     At least that's what I did after my Kindergartner brought her drum and drumstick to me this morning and requested some tape and rubber bands.  I asked her what she was trying to do and she said, "I just need to make a banjo."  I told her that I think we can do better than that and we did!


     Materials Needed:

• Empty Tissue Box
• Scissors
• 2 crayons or small dowels
• One of those paint stirring sticks (we had a small PVC pipe and used that)
• 2-3 rubber bands that can fit snugly around the box
• Double stick tape

     Instructions:

1. Remove the plastic from the tissue box opening
2. Cut a small slit at the top (short end) of the tissue box to accommodate the paint stick.  You'll eventually push the paint stick (or PVC pipe) through this slit (if using a PVC pipe make x slits that the pipe can push through, like in the lid of a to-go cup).
3. Place crayons or dowels at the top and bottom of the tissue box (open side).  Use double stick tape to secure it.
4. Wrap rubber bands around box and over the crayons.
5. Insert stick.
6. Rock on!

     My daughter is now playing it making up her own songs.  I just heard her sing one about clouds!

     For  more fun and to take a peek at other Pre-K and K activities head on over to: