Father's Day Craft Card 2014

This was the card the kids made for Father's Day this year. I traced the kids hands, and we made faces. On the outside is the crazy hair hand, and on the inside we folded the fingers down to make the combed hair. I am a sucker for a pun, so voila! We added a comb for all the great guys in our lives! Happy Father's Day to all!

In the Garden: Seeds, Plants & Underground

Great timing for our garden unit! Darren is working in the garden every weekend and most evenings. The kids love helping out or just observing and lots of just playing while Daddy does the work. I added a study of underground animals to this unit from last year, which really added some depth. We have a beloved groundhog living under our shed, so the kids were interested in learning more about groundhogs and their burrows. We also reviewed the parts of plants and photosynthesis. There were also a few fun food crafts, too. 

The kids made cinnamon roll snails, which were super-easy and the kids gobbled them right up. I just used a Little Debbie Pecan Spinwheel added a smear of icing (or as Kyrie likes to call it "food glue") and a halved strawberry for a head. Whenever possible, I like to have little treats for the kids that tie in with our thematic units. I just think it make it all a little more fun. 

Degen working on a math mat.

The unit folders were underground garden scenes. Degen's folder is above and includes worms and his favorite garden plant: strawberries! Kyrie's folder is below and includes a fox in an underground den and a new sprout. 

So, we decided that Kyrie needed some more math practice. She is now setting weekly goals for basic math facts and taking timed tests daily (great on correct, and still working on time). I have also started to create math activities using our counters. I had been mostly using the counters with Degen, but wanted something that would keep Kyrie thinking mathematically while maintaining an element of fun. For each unit, I go through our collected counters and select an appropriate grouping. For our garden unit, there were rabbits and squirrels and birds and bats, etcetera. Then I have her group, count, add, subtract, multiply, divide and make fractions. So far it has gone great, and she loves these activities! 

One of Kyrie's journal entries for our garden unit. She loved making the period into a little blueberry.

I did not get any photos of the process, but the kids did help me make a carrot-applesauce cake. They love to help in the kitchen, and I hope to include more cooking opportunities as they get older. They loved grating up the carrots in the food processor and gobbled up the finished cake! Yum!

The kids also made easy dirt cakes using the above ingredients. This was a simple food craft that we did after lunch and before running off to one of our activities (why yes, the kids are still in their PJs!). 

Ohio Village 2014

The kids are always excited to go to the history museum and even more excited when we get to go with friends! On our last trip, the Ohio Village was 'inhabited' with a colorful cast of characters that helped the kids understand what life was like in the late-1800s. We went into houses and stores and the school. There were lots of things the kids could use & touch, and several people on-hand to explain how people lived in the 1860s. The kids just loved it! Our time passed too quickly, but we hope to get back to the history museum and village with our friends before the summer ends!

The kids used slates and looked at old primers in the schoolhouse.

We sat down for a lengthy chat in the lodging house.

The kids made a craft in the toy shop, and then learned to play a game called 'graces.'

They tried on hats at the milliner's shop.

And dressed in period costumes in the dress shop. 

In one of the village houses, we watched a woman making lace- fascinating!

We also visited the barn where Kyrie tried to pet a chicken!

Zoombezi Bay Science Day 2014

We were excited for our Homeschool Science Day at Zoombezi Bay. Last year we had a chilly day with temps only rising into the mid-60s, so we had our fingers crossed for nicer weather this year. Well... next time we better cross our toes, too. This year we had cloudy skies and rain. Thankfully, the rain did subside by noontime, but the temps only made it into the upper-70s (some 15 degrees warmer than last year, so I guess we can't complain too much).

We started with the science activities, which the kids really enjoy, though I was a bit disappointed that they were the same activities at last year. Still, the kids have short memories and learn something new/different every time. Their two favorite activities were testing the PH of water and driving robot submersibles. After some learning, we headed to Jungle Jack's Landing and waited for the rain to pass and the temps to warm up. The kids had a blast doing rides with Darren. The spinning rides are too much for me to handle (even with meds), but I rode the roller coaster nearly ten times! 

After lunch, we headed back to Zoombezi Bay. It wasn't a whole lot warmer, but with the temps in the upper-70s, it was about as warm as it was gonna get. I put my suit on, but didn't do more than put a foot in the water... I have just gotten too old for a few moments of fun to outweigh the prospect of being uncomfortable...two pregnancies will do that to you! Ha! I am so grateful for Darren who is as eager as the kids to get in the water and go down the slides. They started at the kids' play area: Baboon Lagoon and then made our way around to some of the slides, the wave pool and the lazy river. The latter two were definite faves.  

Degen could go on some of the slides in the kids' area and one big slide: Dolphin Dash. He chickened out the first time, but Darren talked him through it, and he went back up and went down the second time. He looked so small at the top of that slide (these photos have some major zoom...trust me that it was a long way up), and I was really proud of him for being so brave! Darren would try out a few of the other slides (even with the cooler temps, there were some long lines), but the kids didn't go on any more that day. 

The lazy river and wave pool were big hits with my crew! We spent the most time at the wave pool where I lounged and tried to soak up some sun... which I did even with so much cloud cover. The kids loved the wave pool and did well with some confidence-boosting life-jackets. I always loved the wave pool as a kid, and it was a blast watching Darren & the kids splash & play! We spent about three hours at Zoombezi Bay before heading back to do some more amusement park rides....of course, blue sky and sun appeared not long after we were dried and dressed! 

Even though it was a bit cool and cloudy and rainy, we had a great day! We rode on lots of rides. My very favorite was the roller coaster because all four of us could ride. We rode it one time right after another, enjoying that there was little-to-no line after each ride. I got both kids holding their hands up the whole ride by the end of the day. Degen had been a bit nervous, and we were all proud of him for being so brave! We had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to next year...if we can wait that long!