Gallon Man

**Please check out my Shutterfly giveaway to win a set of 25 cards from Shutterfly:)

This week one of Anna's math lessons was to learn about capacity and the different liquid measurements. Since I STINK at remembering these (I am glad I'm a homeschooling Mom so I can learn it again), I decided to add to the lesson!!

So we made Gallon Man:) You Tube "gallon man song" to get an explanation of him.

1. I pre-cut all the pieces for the kids. I used just 1 piece of construction paper as the gallon "body" and then cut the pieces based on that size. So for the "quart" cut the construction paper into 4 pieces, the "pint" cut into 8 pieces and the "cup" into 16 pieces!

2. Then I laid the pieces on the table one color at a time and had the girls figure out how many of each color they needed to cover the "gallon body".

3. After fitting each color, I had the kids label the pieces with the name! I thought it would be helpful in remembering the pieces to write them over, and over and over:) CHris was busy with finishing other work, so I wrote his labels for him!

4. We laid the pieces out so that they each understood HOW to glue it all together! Also good to see the spacing and that these guys are big... we used the school table and the dining room table;)

5. They got to work gluing;)

6. I loved how they turned out and the kids have had fun with them!! They were having them race down the stairs later in the evening... LOL!!

7. Tomorrow I'm planning to use them to review and there will probably be some more stair racing;) I'm hoping one of these guys makes it to the new school room in the new house;)

I also have a giveaway from Shutterfly coming this week.. very good... especially if you haven't finished your Christmas cards yet:)

Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday @ We are That Family  check out lots of great ideas.

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Weekly Wrap -Up

I love doing these Wrap-Ups.... I love spending moments to look over our week and remember all we did;) Usually at the end of each day I look at the needing attention house and try NOT to look at the crazy. messy. school room, I am a little discouraged at all that didn't get completed each day.

But on Friday afternoon/evening to look at the week... it's encouraging!! Gives me the motivational push to plan the next week!

And while you may not be officially holding me accountable.... it's also a degree of accountability! I take the time to take pics and to help the kids finish the tasks we start (something I struggle to do a lot more than I realize).

So thanks for reading my incredible long Weekly Wrap-Ups:)

Bible
Again, our Bible Time was spent working on Awana verses and activities;) We also reviewed Psalm 19 daily...

and this week I got to use an example of how one of our verses encouraged me to do the right thing since it had already been hidden in my heart. My kids KNOW when I have a bad attitude... and it was a very teachable time for them and me.

Reading/Language Arts
In an effort to start "engaging" Lydia more at her level, she and I have continued to work on Bob Books.

I found with Chris (and now Lydia) it was helpful to sound out the words found in a book before we started it and then read through when he was familiar with the words. Using the wipe board and letting them erase the words they sound out has been the method what works the best here... they LOVE doing it that way:)


She has also started using some Kumon workbooks for the handwriting basics.... she's soo cute when she works:)

I do handwriting "practice" when they are first learning how to write (and the again at cursive). And I'm super lenient... as long as I can read it, I"m good! I know I was taught good "penmanship" in grade school, but honestly I write how I write and everyone is soo different in their handwriting... so while they are young and just learning clearance/cheap workbooks work for me.... and then lots of copywork to practice keeping it neat:)

Chris had a normal week... I think we read 3 out of the 5 days, but at least one of those non-reading days he brought me a book to read to him about 'how his eyes work' LOL!! I LOVE that he is getting to the point where he wants to know what books say....

after that night, he did his reading very cheerfully... yay!!

And Anna has had a normal week, too... with copywork, cursive, spelling lessons/practice, alone reading, reading with Mommy, daily Grammer lessons and a "book report".. she's been busy:) She'll tell you 2nd grade is tough;)

BTW... we DO have a table that we use as a desk... but for some reason the floor and couch are sometimes more used;)

Math
Chris and Anna are continuing to work through Saxon, one lesson at a time!! I just LOVE Saxon though... it's the perfect amount of hands-on/teaching for us. And we usually only use one side of the practice worksheets, unless they get it wrong on the 1st side or need some extra practice;)

I often wondered how people can school multiple age groups at one time.... one of Chris' Saxon activities was easily adaptable for Lydia. So they did the activity at the same time with differing levels:)

Ordering the cards... smallest to biggest
notice Chris has 1-20 while Lydia only has 1-10

Matching the cubes and then adding 1 extra
(learning the plus 1 addition facts)

Science
This week we read through a couple of Venus books. We filled in our Venus chart and did the little planet order song. We meant to look up more facts/pictures about Venus on the Internet, but that was the morning my computer wouldn't connect :(

I have plans of making planet models... hoping to get put together soon. But I really need to beef up our science lessons!!!

During a math lesson, Chris was practicing counting backwards and we got sidetracked into a conversation about how they count backwards when they launch rocketships;) Little did we know it was the DAY of the Discovery launch.... so Friday morning we watched that launch via YouTube;)

History
We had a very fun history week:) YAY!! It's soo much fun to be able to incorporate activities and projects into our history learning;) So we were very thankful for the fun and simple activities in Story of the World this week, as we looked at the start of feudalism, roots of English and castles:)

One of the 1st activties was using Play-Doh to show all the different influences on the English language;) It was a visual I'll remember and the kids will definitely remember the day Mom let them MIX the Play-Doh!!


We also learned how to play Fox and Geese... a Medieval kind of Checkers game. Anna obviously was at the better age to learn this game;) She challenged Brian and I to play:) She beat me twice and then I finally got a turn to be the Fox;) She's ready for Brian now;)

And on Friday as we read the section on Stone Castles we got to work making one (of cardboard, of course). We had inspiration from some blogs, here and here:) ACtually it was the inspiration, along with our readings, for Anna and I... Chris created his own masterpiece, very Chris-like;)

Here are the 'works in progress'...

And then our final products:)

Chris wanted to create the Dark Knight's castle;) Too much reading;)

Other
On Thursday we ventured out to meet our homeschool group at a Dunkin Donuts. We were met with a HUGE crowd... like 39 kids total;) Inside with such a big group meant we had to wait our turn as they took in groups of 6!!

We waited and waited (the bored pics in the collage).

AT first it was a little annoying, but when we finally went I was thankful we were the last group. The tour guide (aka the amazing DD staff member who was soooo patient with the kids) saw that we were the last group and that my kids COULDN"T have the donuts they were letting the kids make, so she actually gave us a tour telling the kids what each step was and what the equipment they used was and did:)

Definitely worth the wait and the lesson on patience;)


After the DD adventure, we met up another family at an indoor fast food playground:) Next time we'll have announce earlier that we can all meet up at McD's:) But it was great to sit with another mom and enjoy a semi-quiet lunch:)

We also visited another homeschool family and let the kids play a bit:) The kids LOVED being at her house and have already asked numerous times when we can go back:)

I also tried to stop by the mall... but by then it was after 3:30... with 4 kids with no naps (Nate had only cat napped) and a tired mom... the few things I had hoped to try on, I hung back on the rack and left before any of us had a "meltdown" :)

A Great week:) Looking forward to another;)

I'm linking up to Weekly Wrap-up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Tiny Talk Tuesday

It's Viking Invasion Week :)
This was our craft yesterday!! The kids had fun making them and then seeing them come together.... they are trying to talk me into skipping Science to do more Viking stuff today:)

We are so excited.... after a recent movie release, we have become viking (not the pro-football team... sorry) fans:)

To prepare we already have watched said "recent movie" and Lydia wanted to watch it again!! so she says, "Mommy, can we watch How Does You Train Your Dragon?"

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Last week to aid in learning our memory verse, I pulled out my ASL Dictionary and taught them some new signs;) Later at lunch the kids made up a game... " guess my sign"... where they "signed" something and the others had to guess what they were saying.

Well Chris makes the "Jesus" sign and then some scary faces. And I asked him what he was signing.... I couldn't guess:)

Chris: I was saying, "Jesus scares everyone."

Me: Why does Jesus scare everyone?

Chris: When he rose again, he jumped out! And the people were scared and said,"Hey, there is the Lord's Son."

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We finally got ride of a wicker shelf we'd been planning to find a new home back in Oct!!! Yes, I"m not sure WHY we had it soo long... but anyway, we brought it up again and Brian just picked it up and put it on the side of the road in front of our house....

no joke, not 60 seconds later.... before Brian could even walk back inside... someone stopped and said they wanted it... LOL!!!

Anna looked at me with Nate in her arms and said, "We are NOT putting Nate out there!"

Books, Paint, Dance and Ode to Mommy

Changing our history work time to the mornings has been such a GREAT move for us... it seems like we just have more time for all sorts of fun!

Like today, I had planned our readings on Early Australia and New Zealand, some narration, digging into some library books and then THIS happens....

Mixing up some Homemade face paint




And then the transformation into Maori "warriors" begins...
*Lydia was worried about using our paints... lol... so she used sunscreen:)



It really was fun;) Their personalities really came out... the cautiousness and the boldness! My three little warriors ready for battle!



And then as the girls cleaned up, Chris wanted to dance in his tribal paint.... soo funny!! And he included an Ode to His Mommy ... too sweet!!

Excuse the blurriness... I"m still learning how to use my camera;)


And the "clicking" noise is Chris providing his own rhythm:)

You can find some other picture posts at 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, To Be Thode and any other linkys I find !!!

***And for those interested.... the paint did wash off fine with SOAP... baby tear free kind;) BUt it has to be really washed, Chris barely scrubbed his belly and it was still tinted blue after his bath:)

Hooked on Caterpillars

This week we had our new Science project in the mail:)

Grammie purchased a butterfly set for Anna for her Birthday in May.... finally, we will be home and focused enough to enjoy watching the transformation. So we were sooo excited that the caterpillars were in the mail today.





When we broke into the shipping box we found a little "cup". Everything that the caterpillars will need for the next 1-2 weeks is in the cup. In fact we are told NOT to open the cup and expose the caterpillar to bacteria, germ, from our environment!! The kids and I poured over the directions.... and we waited for the little caterpillars to move:)

It's a little sad that they stay in the cup, just because I thought it would be fun to measure the caterpillar every couple of days!

Here is a peek into the cup. The caterpillars did start moving around as fresh air got into the container. They have been making a "web"... kind of makes it hard to see in, but that is the type of caterpillars they are... Painted Ladys.




So we've been watching them all week. They seemed a little bigger to me, and my thoughts were confirmed when they started attaching themselves to the roof of the cup... one even looks like his chrysalis has "hardened".

So this week we have been Hooked on watching our caterpillars:) Even through their gross little container... wish it was a little more cleaner...yuck! BUT... I do LOVE the fact that my kids ENJOY the simple things in life.... they have really enjoyed watching and checking on their caterpillars and were soo excited to see them start forming their chrysalis!! And I can't imagine their excitement when we see one of the butterflies emerge:)

Check out some cleaner and more crafty projects at Hooked on Fridays at Hooked on Houses.

HOw to feed the birds in the neighborhood....

First we filled the feeder (after I found it in the garage.... we haven't used it in 4 years). Then we found a good place to hang it up and made sure it was sturdy.

Finally the kids went to find some birds to invite to the "new" bird feeder :) They are just too precious!!!

The two little specks in the background are the kids inviting the birds.

Lincoln Logs with Magnets

Today we pulled out a Christmas toy to use for the first time....they are called Magnalogs by Mega (here's the smaller set on Ebay). Anyway, the box had a picture of the things you could build with them. So Anna picked out what she wanted and we got started....

I'm trying to remember if we owned any Lincoln Logs growing up.....not sure, but I do remember playing with some somewhere. I wasn't sure about these "new" magnetic logs. But they were worth a try and from what older homeschooling parents say.....Lincoln Logs are a great creative/building toy:)


So I started to make the "Super Play Fort" for Anna. I mean it had a little house on stilts and a slide coming down......what a cool house to make!!! I worked for about 15 minutes and realized a BS in Mathematics was NOT enough for this project.....I should have gone into Engineering to prepare for this task:)


I really honestly think that they didn't include enough pieces for the project they had pictured or the pieces weren't quite right!! Most pieces had magnets in the joints but the longest piece with three grooves didn't have magnets in the middle groove....what a pain!!! Daddy walked through the living room at one point laughing because the conversation he had heard Anna and I having about the pieces not being "right". He took a quick look at it and concluded the same thing :) He's challenged to take them back out tonight and try to make the "Super Play Fort". Who knows we might break down and start seaching the Net for the instructions..... ha ha ha :)


I did make part of the playhouse for Anna....the piece that included the slide!!! And she was happy and played with the logs for another hour or so! And they were pretty fun!!!

Of course, most projects are MUCH easier when Christopher doesn't hide pieces under the couch cushions!!! The little Booger....as I was working he was hiding until I realized the pieces I needed were missing ;) I said aloud, "Now where did all those roof pieces go?" And Little Man ran over to the couch to show me!!

Happy Anniversary

Grandma and Granddaddy we just wanted to show you how much we love you and are thankful for you!!! Happy Anniversary!!

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord." Prov 18:22
We thank God for your loving example of a marriage dedicated to daily serving God and one another!