Spelling Fun

Following the advice of Pioneer Woman, we held our first weekly spelling bee today. The girls and Liam loved it, though I suspect it may have been more because of the skittles and dum dums I hurled at them than for the sheer fun of spelling words correctly. Liam even correctly spelled his name (he already knew how to do that) and is beginning to learn the sounds for "a" and "e". They begged for more, which I always figure is a good sign. :)

Summer Break

We are on "summer break" now, so what does that mean this year? Here is what we are doing:

• review math 2 days per week
• review phonograms and spelling rules 1 day per week
• spelling bee once a week
• learn to type
• read library books together
• have the girls read to me!
• continue reading chapter books together (we are currently in Little Women)
• plant and learn about sunflowers (and the bees that visit them)!
• learn about managing our money with Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett
• read a Magic Treehouse book each week and learn about whatever topic the book covers
• read and pray through Window on the World, mapping as we go
• read and learn about different animals using Thornton Burgess's Animal Book for Children
• make and enjoy art with The Great Big Art Activity Book
• learn to sew, giving the girls sewing kits and scraps of cloth, like my grandmother did for me, as well as possibly a few machine lessons
• hone some cooking skills by learning to prepare some of their favorite dishes
• lots of nature walks outside!
• movies on Mondays!
• library summer clubs! (even for Liam)
• classes at our local arboretum (even for Liam!)
• summer music camp!
• crafty afternoons!
• play with our neighbors outside in the afternoons!
  

Busy and fun!! Yay for summer!!

Magic Treehouse #4: Pirates Past Noon

Here are our book reports from the fourth Magic Treehouse book:






Books used:
Pirates Past Noon, Mary Pope Osborne
Pirates, Will & Mary Pope Osborne

Field Trip!

Today, we visited the Chattahoochee Nature Center. It was a great day for nature walking and exploring. We saw bald eagles and hawks who had been rescued and then rehabilitated. We also got to see a beaver up close and personal! The space inside included a "trading post" area that was (I think) pretty awesome! The kids can bring in anything they find outside and earn points for bringing it in and also for whatever they know about the item. Then, they can "shop" in the bins and "buy" other cool items (animal, plant, mineral) with the points they have earned. They also have microscopes hooked up to computer screens that the kids can use to examine anything in any of the bins. The girls had a blast examining shells, pine cones, rocks and their fingers (and Darsie even figured out how to examine her tongue - go figure!).

Cool flowers (we take pictures so we can leave the cool stuff where we find it)

Cool sticks

Raccoon?

Inside of a turtle shell

Magic Treehouse #2: The Knight at Dawn

Here are the girls' book reports on the second Magic Treehouse book, which we read this week.





Here are the books we used:
The Knight at Dawn, Mary Pope Osborne
Knights and Castles, Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne

Magic Treehouse #2: The Knight at Dawn

We have been reading the research guide that accompanies the Magic Treehouse Knight at Dawn book, and after reading about castles, the girls each drew their own castles, making sure to include the barbican, portcullis, drawbridge, moat and watchtower.

Here is Katy's castle:


Here is Darsie's castle:

Magic Treehouse #2: The Knight at Dawn

Today, we read about coats of arms, so the girls each created their own coats of arms to tell other knights on the battle field who they are and what they are like.

Here is Darsie's:


The crosses tell them that I believe in God.
The giraffe tells you that I won't run away, because giraffes are big and don't run away.
The lion with spikes tells you that I will kill them with just one blow!
The arrow with the cross tells them that I believe in God and that He will help me to beat them.
The bullet shows that they can't look at me because I am so scary!

Here are Katy's:




The elephant tells them that I am strong and will beat them.
The sun tells them that I am too bright to look at.
The red cross is like the shield of the Red Cross Knight in St. George and the Dragon!
The weapons on the string are supposed to scare you!