As if it ain't cold enough!

Earlier this week we did a lesson on ice!

Messy

I put bowls of water outside the night before and brought them inside in the morning.  The were partially frozen.  When we turned them upside down and popped the ice bowls out, they all sprang a leak and a tiny fountain of water flowed from each of them - actually, one had two holes.  The kids got a huge kick out of watching through the ice as the water level inside decreased while the water leaked out.  We talked about the different states of matter.

Messier

Next, the kids used water and food coloring to make different colored ice blocks.  We put the color combinations in ice cube trays and froze them. 

Messiest of all!

Finally, the kids painted a picture on freezer paper and then used "ice cube paint brushes" to draw designs in the painting.  I froze popsicle sticks in blocks of ice the night before and popped them out in the morning for the kids to use.  They loved this.  After they were done, we put them out in the freezing cold to dry.  The finished products are cool - they still look wet but are completely dry!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Lil' Miss has private violin lessons, group violin lessons, private Spanish lessons, dance class and Girl Scouts. The Little Guy has private piano lessons and soccer practice. Lil' Cherub has a toddler class at the library and a gym class at the Y. We also have a preschool group that meets twice a month, a bi-weekly playgroup, a weekly co-op, and a playgroup that meets every other week. And of course, there is church, including weekly Bible Study.

We have so much packed into our schedule that it is a miracle we actually get schooling in! God somehow works that out each week. Not only have we found time to get all of the 3 Rs done (and other fun subjects) but we also manage to include daily practice for their musical instruments and Spanish.

With a life this busy, the year certainly flew by! I do hope that before the year is out, hubby and I will find time to spend together. We have been on two, maybe three dates this year. Our 8 year anniversary, a wedding, and out to dinner once. And I'm almost ashamed to say, we have not had a night alone since before our first child was born! Now that the baby is weaned and independent and bossing everyone around, maybe we can leave her with the grandparents and go away for a weekend sometime soon. Or better yet, stay in for a weekend!

Hope everyone is finding time to cherish the ones they love this holiday season!

New School Year

I've been trying something new this school year. I read a homeschooling article that suggested it is beneficial for multiple children in a family to learn all together at the same time. Last year I worked with each child separately, however I thought I'd give it a try this year. So the last few weeks I've been sitting everyone at the table, starting off with prayer and a scripture. Then I have each kid stay at the table while we do the work. Obviously they are 2 and a half years apart so they aren't working on the same level. I'll have Lil' Miss read from her reading book while the Little Guy listens. Then the he'll work on his beginning phonics while she listens. They work on math together and I just direct questions to each, appropriate to their level. And so on with the other subjects. It's been working somewhat. The baby has even been paying attention. When they do artwork, I give her paints and paper too so she can participate right along with her older siblings. I figure, back in the day when they had the one room school house there were way more than three kids, so I should be able to handle this!

Button Your Books!

Mama Jenn: Kiddos Create Challenge: BUTTONS


I've decided to join in on Mama Jenn's Kiddos Create Weekly Challenge. The idea is to have your kids make something creative out of the theme item for the week. You can also make something with your kids or for your kids. The item this week is ... buttons! After much thought, we decided to make button bookmarks.

First, we cut out rectangles from a box made of thin cardboard. Cereal boxes are the perfect thickness.

The kids then cut tiny pieces of tissue paper of all colors. They used glue to cover the cardboard strips. They then chose several buttons to glue to the top of their strips. Let them dry and voila ... button bookmarks!
The kids had a blast making them and they encourage reading! Thanks for the inspiration Mama Jenn!

Treats for All

I love it when a lesson is easy enough for my two and four year old to complete and actually understand, but engaging enough for older kids as well. The homeschool co-op we participate in (for ages 2 to about 7) had just such an activity for our get together yesterday. It was pajama day, since the kids hadn't seen each other for a while over the holiday break. So they were already in happy, cozy moods being able to run around in their pjs with all of the other kids. After some coloring time, a story telling and two books we had snacks. I was scheduled to provide snack yesterday and I baked dairy free pumpkin muffins (not from the can but from an actual sugar pumpkin) - they were a big hit! The kids all settled down for their activity. Each kid got a large blunt needle with embroidery floss, and the table was filled with several bowls of popcorn, grapes, raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts and cheerios. The kids strung the embroidery floss with the snacks to make a nice little treat to hang from a bush or a tree for the birds and squirrels! My kids had such a great time doing this, they actually sat long enough to almost fill about two feet of embroidery floss. Of course, I ended up finishing the rest while they ran around playing with their buddies. We brought them home and hung them in the front yard in hopes of being able to watch the animals enjoy the treats. However, it either must be too cold outside or too strange looking for them to eat because they haven't touched them yet! I think if I were a squirrel or a bird, I'd love to have some - I was almost ready to eat them while the kids were making them! Well, here are their little gifts to the animals, still hanging from the tree.

I suppose if they haven't been touched by the end of this weekend, we'll move them to another location. The woman leading the activity did say that she noticed the squirrels were the fattest she'd ever seen them at winter time which could mean that we are going to get a lot of snow. Maybe they have already stuffed themselves and are too full to eat our creations!!!