Budding Musicians

The boys have been taking piano lessons this year and really seem to enjoy it. Our teacher, Miss June, is a pleasure to work with and she makes learning the piano fun. We had been using a large keyboard, but decided it was time to find a piano. We found this one on Craig's List at a reasonable price. The body is a little scratched up, but that works for our lively household and all the active play that takes place in our livingroom. All we need to do now is get it tuned and keep practicing!!!

Counting to 100

We play lots of math learning games with Luke. He participates with Elijah on a lot of his Saxon 1 lessons, but I know he has gaps in some of his math skills due to jumping ahead with Elijah. I've been trying to fill those gaps and one approach that I take with him (and with all the boys for that matter) is to challenge them to "beat" mom or steal all my pieces, cards, etc. away from me by getting the correct answer.

On this particular day, I was using our Abeka Numbers Flashcards (0-200). I gave Luke the cards in sets of 10 and scrambled them to see if he could place them back in the correct order. Then we recited the numbers together as we gathered them up to put away. At first he was reluctant, but after the first few sets and my overly dramatic response to him correctly ordering the numbers, he was hooked. I very much enjoyed his somewhat fake sounding, loud laughter as he watched me check his work with disbelief and shock on my face. I also love the fact that he covers his mouth and starts giggling as I started heading toward him. What a sweet (and very smart) boy!!!

Dog House

The boys had the opportunity to paint bobble head dogs at their Keepers of the Faith program at church this past Sunday (yesterday). Their fascination with the dogs has lead to dreams of dog houses, dog names, dog toys, dog house accessories, etc. I decided to help them create a dog house and count this as our art project for the week. We used a cardboard box and cut and taped to the shape we wanted, then set up for painting. If you look closely, you can see their dogs sitting at the table patiently waiting for their new home to be created and decorated.

We created a removable portion of the roof so they could add more toys and "food" for the dogs as needed without reach into the doorway. They decided that the removable roof was also a great idea for sunny days so the dogs would not have to sit in the dark but could still be protected from the rain on wet days.

Luke's dog is named Spot.

Elijah's dog is named Jeffrey Digger.

Here's the finished dog house with Isaac and his special Ruff-ruff (aka dirty dog - he was seriously chewed on and loved and has turned a lovely shade of browny grey instead of the shiny grey of his original coat). Maybe we'll have to do a little unit on dogs or atleast read some great doggie stories!

Geography

As part of our weekly lessons, I have the boys engage in geography studies. With our history curriculum The Story of the World, we are learning ancient geography, but I wanted to add continents, US geography, and current world geography. I use a variety of learning tools - a laminated place mat with continents on one side and a US map on the opposite side, state flashcards, a world geography flip chart, a US floor puzzle and our globe. We recently ordered two books by Rand McNally that the boys really enjoy looking through. Some of the information is above their grade level and reading ability, but the simple facts are listed on each page about that state or country - pictures of the flag, bird, flower, tree, etc. as well as a listing of the capital, population, highest points, area, etc. I can always read the other information to them and the boys will not outgrow these atlas' for quite a while.

Looking through the Rand McNally Children's Illustrated Atlas of the United States. Elijah typically reads (or tries to read) the state's name and they look at the state flag, bird, tree and flower, then move on to the next page.

Here is the globe that we own. It is a GeoSafari Talking Globe Jr. that gives facts and information. The boys can then play games quizzing their memory and knowledge of facts just learned. I found it for a steal a few years back at almost half price...it is pricey. But, my boys really enjoy it.

How Your Body Works

In our science studies, we've been using Christian Kids Explore Biology by Stephanie Redmond. I appreciate how the author weaves our Christian faith into every lesson. As a Christian, is there really any other way to talk about the awesome creation around us without talking about God, our creator??? We've just begun our study of the human body. Of course, we have our Human Body Flip Chart mentioned in a previous post that will be a favorite around here for years.

Two books we've found useful and right on my boy's level are The Busy Body Book: A Kid's Guide to Fitness by Lizzy Rockwell






The Best Book of the Human Body by Barbara Taylor. I delight in seeing my boy's faces as they discover new things about how our bodies are made...206 bones???!!! They just couldn't get over it...so we had to count to 206!





I came across a website the boys loved playing around with called How The Body Works. There are movies to view about each body system and body parts/organs, where each part is located in the body, activities, quizzes and articles to read among other helpful information related to health. After showing the boys how to maneuver the site, they mostly watched videos as some of the information was above their grade level.

The timing is great for this topic in our house as the boys are questioning more about our baby due in July. Luke was surprised to know that the baby is "naked" right now and will NOT be born fully dressed. Ha, ha! What a neat way to bring real life to school studies!

King Tut

In our Story of the World studies, we're reading about King Tut and the discovery of his mummy and treasures. I found this chapter book about the life of Howard Carter and the team that discovered King Tut's tomb. It's an easy read and presents our topic in story form instead of fact laden pages in picture books. Don't get me wrong, it's essential that we use the non-fiction picture books, but this is a nice change of pace. And it works as our Read-Aloud this week!

The Uterus

This flip chart has been a favorite the last few weeks upon rediscovery of the page on Reproduction and Pregnancy. I've begun telling the boys more specific details about the baby and my body in response to their questions. The best question so far, because we say that Mama has a baby in her tummy, is about whether the baby is mixed in my tummy with all the food I eat. I explained that the baby is actually in my uterus or womb separate from my stomach and food. Now, every few days, particularly when I'm wearing a snug shirt, Elijah comes up to me and puts his hand on my growing tummy and says, "I know our baby is growing because I can see your uterus." Ha!


I'm just waiting for the BIG question that I know will come..."How does the baby get out???" In the past, I've answered that there is a special opening on a Mama's body for their babies to be born. I think they'll want a more specific location this time...and if Elijah can read the chart he may figure it out on his own!