Spring Break and such
Instead of going chronologically, I'm mixing that method with going by person.
Kaitlyn had a lot going on this month (at least she had a lot of pictures compared to the others, so we'll start with her.)
She decided she wanted short hair, so we cut it.
She's in drama class at school and is loving it. It's not all about acting; they do a lot of writing and other areas of drama. Her teacher sent me an email this past week commenting on what a good writer she is.
This picture was from a world-celebration event; the drama class did reader's theaters of some stories from around the world - I recognized Anansi and Tikki Tikki Tembo.
She and her friends got "superior" scores (highest rank) at the solo and ensemble festival this weekend. She plays clarinet at school (as does her friend on the right; friend on the left is percussion).
Let's go to Alee next. Most of her pictures are things we've done in homeschool - some fun activities (most fun activities) and some just an every day moment.
We tried out 2 co-ops recently. One was ok, but very expensive, and not necessarily aligned with my ideas of how I want to do it, but thorough and friendly. The second I liked better (cheaper, also friendly, and much closer to home) - their STEM activity the week we visited was all about energy - mechanical, potential, kinetic, so it lined up perfectly with our current science unit. If she homeschools again, this is the co-op we'll join for socialization and extra.
We went to an activity by the Columbia Historic Society about the Great Depression (I rushed a little ahead to be at that week in time for the activity). It was less "exciting", but a good in person activity/lesson to teach what we were learning.
She was working on making a "store" for our Great Depression unit. One of the articles had a sample price list for how much things might have cost then (and even those prices were hard for people to meet). She's building the car while I read from one of the American Girl books in the Kit series here.
Funny story - we'll get to our trip to the art museum in a minute, but this couch has a special memory for Alee. She was well-behaved for this trip and has a bit more appreciation for art than she did a few years ago (2015). However, when we went last, she was 5 years old, and she was a handful. When she saw this couch, she sat on it and set off an alarm. She can read now and recognized the sign that says do not sit on it. (It also has a "fence" string around it.)
I had planned hands-on, fun things for each subject during spring break (for my older kids in public school). She wanted to homeschool during the break so she could finish earlier. But when time really came to do this, her attitude was not cooperative, so we didn't homeschool all 5 days. That meant my planned activities got pushed to the following week.
We've learned about volume, but she needed some hands on to really grasp and be able to estimate and understand the volume measurements on worksheets. Gideon loved the mess.
We did a crayon length line plot. (She did get dressed both days; I'm not sure why she did her math in PJs on the graph/chart day since it wasn't messy like the water?)
She wants to continue to homeschool next year, but as of right now, I'm leaning towards letting her try one more public school near us that I think she'd like; it's focus is STEM and encourages hands on. (We'll go visit it this week. She already has a place held in it. We're praying about this.)
Here are our hands-on activities from our study of thermal (heat) energy:
1. solar oven (made s'mores and cracker pizzas)
2. Hot Water/Cold Water stack. (The google collage did not put the pictures in order, but the most separated is first and the most mixed is last.)
We filled two jars with water - one with hot water (and red food coloring) and one with cold water (and blue food coloring). Then (using an index card and adult hands) we flipped one jar over the other (and removed the index card).
First we did cold water on top. Within minutes, the two had mixed. (The hot water rose to the top and the two colors mixed.)
Then we did hot water on top. It took over and hour and a half for the two temperatures of water to completely mix.
1:12 top right
1:34 top left (big picture)
1:52 bottom right
1:52 middle right (different angle)
2:13 bottom left
2:53 bottom middle
We did all of our hands on this past week during Gideon's nap time. He is usually uncooperative since he's tired and curious.
Gideon also loved the STEM activity at the co-op. (They had a toddler room, but I knew he wouldn't stay without me, so we both stayed with Alee. He was a pain, of course.)
"Trouble, oh we got trouble,Right here in River City!With a capital "T"That rhymes with "P"And that stands for Pool"
Gideon seems to like musicals like the rest of us, and my brother used to quote that regularly...had to throw it in!
We do have Trouble, but it starts with a capital G!
My little toddler trouble is getting so big! He just doesn't always realize it.
He was going to sleep really well in Rob's arms every night for a while, but then he started wanting to fall asleep in our bed every night. (He looks so big here.) That would be fine if he wouldn't flop all over the bed trying to keep himself awake until late and past everyone's bedtime. So we're editing the room arrangements and the routine to give him his own room, and we've put the rocking chair in there, so he is back to being rocked at night - but away from our bed and the noise of the other kids.
(He still goes down after reading books but still awake for naps. He then falls asleep by himself, usually with no fuss.)
If I had known Alee was going to make herself chicken nuggets for lunch this day, I wouldn't have had her make Gideon a PB&J! He didn't mind helping himself to her food while she was away from the table. (She took the 2nd half of his sandwich in return.)
Choc-ate, or as this was known by the end of the night "Truck-ate" (Truck + Chocolate). He got this himself after dinner one night and asked us to open it. The other kids had some Easter candy, so he got some too. He ate half before I convinced him to save the rest for tomorrow.
I'm glad this wiped right off; I had my doubts. Sigh.
(Another artist in the making, right?)
We moved the sugar-filled syrups up and put the grits and rice to the bottom row; those aren't tempting at all. He has figured out how to open and use the stool to get to the personal basket* row!
Gideon's basket is filled with the squeeze pouches (applesauce/baby food).
When they get candy (like for Easter) or any other personal treat, they also add this personal candy to their baskets to save for movie night. (Kaitlyn "wins" candy in rhythm challenges in band, or I'll treat them for making their bed and keeping their floor cleared of laundry all week).
I'm sure I'll hear it from someone, but we're getting down to the less-pictured (but NOT less-loved) children. Seth has grown a lot in tennis this year. He played on the JV team at high school and enjoyed it. He just finished the last match of the season this past week.
He also plays with Gideon and enjoys it. He's a good big brother. (Sometimes we have to remind him to stop playing and act his age; he gets Gideon riled up at the wrong times sometimes.)
The only pictures I have of Natalie or Carolyn are from Spring Break, which needed its own section. They have two things that aren't pictures of them that I can share:
I decided to have everyone help with Sunday dinner, which I like better. We're all involved, and they learn to cook a part of the meal. Carolyn and Seth were put in charge of dessert today. They came up with a cookie-from-a-cake-mix-with-hidden-soaked-oreo-inside treat. Carolyn named it something like "instant diabetes". I suggested "Freckled cookie Surprise." (Even Seth thought it had too many chocolate chips; Carolyn dumped in the entire bag!)
Natalie's is a video. She was reading the board book version of "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" by Dr. Seuss, which none of us have really read with Gideon regularly lately, but I did for a while. She started reading it and left out the last word of every line (or the main rhyming thing) and he started filling in the blanks! We were all shocked as I recorded.
The first video was the best (because he got all but one right and he barely looked at the book for pictures), but Natalie was wearing her nightly turban (curly hair wrap) and did not want that passed around the family or on YouTube, so we re-recorded for public display the next day.
Now, for spring break:
We started the week with a Sunday evening Easter Cantata at church, followed by clean up and chores the next morning. The kids' fun began with sleepovers Monday night with friends. (Seth didn't have a sleepover but had 3 days in a row hanging out with his best friend.)
Tuesday we went to the lake with friends. I hope Gideon becomes good friends with the little guy on his right since their older brothers are best friends.
Wednesday we had a "piano party" (a fun spring break Easter themed group lesson comprised of games/activities for all the beginners, with help from all my "intermediate" teens). We finished with cookies-n-cream cupcakes that I frosted with my newest cake tip.
We also continued the learning with our normal science lesson. (For our energy unit, we do a weekly hands on lesson with my sister-in-law and her two homeschooled children.) The twins had as much fun as the rest of us making the circuit work and testing different batteries. Everyone that was interested got a turn to make the light work. (We also threw a switch into the circuit, which need a few extra hands go hold all the wires in place.)
Thursday, I finally followed through with my promise to dye eggs. (Last year we never "got around to it", so I promised we would not skip that this year and that it would happen during springs break!)
Seth came in and drew on one egg with a sharpie, but wasn't really interested, so he got started on his yard work early that afternoon...after I pushed him off the couch. (We went to visit my grandparents that recently moved here that morning.)
(We worked for a while in the yard that afternoon - not fun! The back porch and deck and bushes look much better though. (There is still so much to do; I'd like to hire someone. I can organize and clean the inside of my house, and I can clean up and organize toys and things outside, but dealing with living things just overwhelms me!)
Alee was so excited to surprise us with our "Easter presents" :) that she had made. She had bought or saved candy for each of us. These are the notes that came with mine and Rob's.
We finished the week (Friday) with a field trip to the art museum with Rob's family. My kids really enjoy art, especially the oldest 4. Alee has recently gained an appreciation for it through her ELA book, so even she enjoyed it. Her favorite part, though, was the hands on children's area we visited last. :)
It's a pianoforte!
Hands on Art!
Yes, those are actual Chinese characters. No, I don't know what they mean.
Even Rob joined the fun.
For the weekend, we went to visit Rob's parents to celebrate his Dad's birthday. Memere had planned an Easter Egg hunt with cool prizes. I went out to take pictures, and I got as many as I could, but they are FAST at finding eggs.
This was Gideon's first real egg hunt, and he caught on fast and enjoyed it. He was upset that I wouldn't let him build a sandcastle with the dirt that he was picking up and throwing into his bucket with the eggs!
(Carolyn kindly help me check the eggs for ants while I held him away from the ant pile he so desperately wanted to play in. There were no eggs hidden near that, but boys ...and girls like Alee... are attracted to dirt like magnets.)
One of our "Come, Follow Me" activities this week was to make pretty a quote from "The Living Christ" to celebrate Easter. Here are ours. (Kaitlyn never posted hers because she was trying to make it perfect by hand. Alee did 2, so it made up the 7.)
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