Tchaikovsky

This month, I quickly switched gears for our composer study to learn about Tchaikovsky instead of Bach. Why??? FREE mini concert, that's why!!! Our local children's museum was hosting groups from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and members of the Rochester City Ballet to celebrate the upcoming performances of The Nutcracker. We listened to the String Quartet and the Brass Quintet play selections from the ballet. The musicians spent time talking about their instruments and story behind the ballet that related to the music they were performing. I was impressed with the musician's interest in the children and their willingness to explain in simple words about the music. For only having two interactions with the RPO (both in the past two months) I am very impressed.

It was neat to see the boys bopping their heads and "tum-ta-ta-ta-tum-tuming" with the music. In the week prior to the concert, we read The Nutcracker story and listened the music, so they were familiar with it before attending. While listening the first time, during a lively section, the boys battled with their swords and guns. I was thankful they sat politely during the concert.


Of course, some time was spent enjoying other activities around the museum, too. Although, the boys told their dad that it wasn't much fun because there were too many people visiting on Veteran's Day. We usually visit the mostly empty museum in the afternoon while everyone else is still in school and the afternoon nappers have gone home - he, he!

Field Trip Adventures

We are members of two homeschool support groups in our area. One has over 120 families and has been around for many years. The other has just started this past year with only a handful of families. We've enjoyed two field trips with Armor LEAH this fall and look forward to many more. We're getting to know some great families that live very near to us.


Our first trip was to McPherson Orchards to learn about the process of apple cider making.

The apples get washed then wait to be taken up the elevator to be ground into mush.

Collecting the apple mush on trays lined with cloth. When the stack of trays gets high enough, they move the whole stack under a hydraulic arm to squeeze out the liquid. The juice then goes through a "sterilization" process and on to the holding tank.

Waiting outside for the apple mush to be thrown off the trays to clear them for the next batch of mush.

Flying apple mush! We giggled every time it came flying out of the barn.

Wishing they were throwing the apple mush!

The same day, we headed down the road to Coyle's Pumpkin Ranch to learn about pumpkins and enjoy some playtime.

The far building houses the animals - goats, turkeys, a rabbit and a cow. Luke loved feeding the goats. The building closest held many varieties of pumpkins, gourds and corn.

Jumping on the hay bales was a close favorite to running around the corn maze with the other kids. Fortunately there was only one main path, so getting lost was a near impossibility. The moms were able to chat outside the maze while the kids played.

Petting the soft bunny rabbit. Isaac especially loved the rabbit...but he loves anything super soft.

Asking Mrs. Coyle about the "popcorn" ears of corn. We haven't tried ours yet, but it's ready and waiting.

Last week on Elijah's birthday, we visited the Chili Fire Dept. to learn about fire safety and check out the trucks and equipment.

Little boys in their glory...Luke used to say that he wanted to be a "fire truck" when he grew up. He, he!

Watching a fireman putting on each piece of his gear. He stressed that even though he looked and sounded strange in all his gear that the children were not to be afraid if there was an emergency. I was impressed with his ability to speak at the children's level and make them feel comfortable.

Hanging out in a fire truck with a real fireman!

Spelled to Order

I'm always on the look out for new manipulatives to use with the boys and even though I have several letter type manipulatives, I couldn't pass up these inexpensive new "toys." I found them at the Dollar General for $1 per package. Each package contains 31 magnetic letters which includes an extra set of vowels. I appreciate that the vowels are distinguished by their red color making it easier for my 4 year old to find as he is learning short vowel sounds. I purchased 5 sets to have plenty of letters to share. My mancubs helped me punch out the letters from the sheets and immediately began playing.



After spelling his name, Luke ran over the the fridge and grabbed a few "foods" from our Vtech ABC Food Fun fridge magnet set. He set to work spelling some words.


Elijah, on the other hand, chose his words a little more carefully, being the hungry and growing boy that he is recently. After spelling his words, he asked me to come over and see what he wanted for breakfast. Easy enough to oblige!

These letters appear to be another inexpensive learning tool that will find many hours of enjoyment in our home.