Basketball!

We signed the girls up for Upward Basketball this winter to get them acquainted with team sports in general and basketball in particular. I do feel a bit for the poor coach, who has a team of 7 giggly 5-7 year old girls! We were not too optimistic at the beginning of their first game, seeing as they still had to work on dribbling and passing, much less shooting! However, once we saw them play, we were actually impressed (for them!). No one shot at the wrong basket, and the girls did pretty well attempting dribbling and even made several baskets! The older girls definitely have the height advantage at this point!
It has been interesting to see the girls' personalities display themselves in how they play. Darsie plays with a big grin on her face the entire time and is always where the ball is. She hustles amazingly well and has even stolen the ball from the other team several times! You should see her dribble, too! It is something to watch! ;)
Katy is more timid, we think more because she is worried about what all the other people are thinking and wants to be able to do it all perfectly first. She can actually make baskets pretty well, so we are waiting for her competitive side to kick in, and then I think she'll really get into it!
Both are really having fun, and Upward is perfect for them! Even in the games, the ref focuses more on training than calling them on things like traveling (they ALL do it!), etc. Now for soccer next fall!

They have everyone line up at the beginning of the game and then call each player's name and have them run through the line as we clap and cheer. Here is Darsie. Katy ran too fast for my camera, so I'll try again next week!

Normal Rockwell

We visited an exhibit honoring the art of illustrator Norman Rockwell this afternoon. It was a really well-done display, with several of his paintings brought to "life" by creating life-size sculptures of them. Very kid-friendly, with lots of stuff to climb on or touch. I always have loved Normal Rockwell because each of his pictures tell a story, making it fun to stand and explore them. The girls seemed to enjoy the exhibit - they like to draw pictures that tell stories as well, so I think they identified with that aspect of his art. See if you can figure out what was Liam's favorite part of the exhibit!

We had the girls "act out" this illustration...

Then we added a modern twist...



An intro to civil rights....

The Kids' New Toy!

Our parents got together to give us a new freezer for Christmas and, in the process, gave the kids a great present, too! They love their new freezer box!

It started out as a neat house, complete with windows, a door with door handle and skylight! They colored the inside and out and had a very fun morning. The next day, it became an Egyptian tomb, and they took turns doing cave paintings on the walls to tell stories from their lives. That evening, it was again a house and maybe a boat (I think that is what Liam was playing at the time). Who needs toys?!

Darsie's cave paintings. It was interesting to see what they included, like a boat ride in Uncle Dan's boat from this summer, doing goofy ballet dancing, the anticipation of opening presents for Christmas, etc.

Her family portrait.

Katy's paintings. Hers were pretty Christmas focused, including excitement about MeeMa and Poppop coming that evening.

Her painting of the girls with MeeMa and PopPop.

Liam in his boat??

A Happy Boy!

. As you can imagine, LIam was quite pleased at being able to do somethign he has only gotten to watch his big sisters do int he past!






LAst Saturday, we trekked to Home Depot for their monthly building project. THis month, it was a fun toy wagon. THe lady there was really nice, and since we got there at the end of the allotted time, she sent one package home with Liam for us to make with him at home. He also was given a new apron

A Happy Boy!

Last Saturday, we trekked to Home Depot for their monthly building project. This month, it was a fun toy wagon. The lady there was really nice, and since we got there at the end of the allotted time, she sent one package home with Liam for us to make with him at home. He also was given a new apron. As you can imagine, Liam was quite pleased at being able to do something he has only gotten to watch his big sisters do in the past (he was also pleased to have a new wheeled toy!)! He wore his apron home and then asked to build it with Daddy as soon as we stepped in the door. Here is his project, from start to finish!

To quote Liam, "Look what I made!"

Here he is modeling his new apron and his new Lightening McQueen slippers from a friend. He is making a funny face because I told him to smile, and somehow he contorted his face into this "smile."

Child Labor

When you get your Christmas letters this year, try to figure out who decorated yours! :)

Egypt!

We have begun our second term of history with a study of Ancient Egypt! First we made a salt-dough map of Egypt so we could look at and feel what it is like while we study it (it's not my creativity, so don't be impressed - it's just our curriculum!). I enlisted Matt to help with the initial shaping of the map, and then we had to wit about a week until it was dry enough to paint. This week, we have added brown for land, green for the fertile areas, and blue for water. Tomorrow, we will label the map and see where everything is. It has been fun, and the girls have really enjoyed creating it!





We have also begun map studies of Africa, listening to our geography songs CD and identifying countries in Africa. So far, we have identified Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, as well as the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the Pacific Ocean. Hopefully, we will add a country or two a week, but we'll see. How many do they need to know at this age? I picked the ones we did because Matt has been to Kenya, they saved money for orphans in Uganda, and we have a friend from Soutah Africa. We'll see how many more we get to. The good news is, they can identify the continents and oceans, so that is pretty good for this age, I think!

We have greatly enjoyed reading from our book for the term, Boy of the Pyramids, by Ruth Fosdick Jones. It certainly has brought Egypt to life, and we have learned a lot about this country!

Yesterday, purely for fun, we built sugar cube pyramids (something I read about on another blog). They enjoyed the building, but I suspect that their favorite part was eating a few at the end! I like these food-based crafts! Next week, we are going to try mummy hotdogs! :)