Home Schooling Summary for Last Week

I have not been doing a good job of capturing some of the kids' activities on camera. For the last 5 weeks big sister A has been taking a "play acting" class. She made friends with 2 of the girls now and I think it has been a great class for socializing as well as performing in front of a small group.

They are preparing a play based on the book called Mr. Tiger Goes Wild.

We did a really fun math activity this week -- connect the dots -- but "by 2's".  She said them aloud as she was drawing them.  A much less boring way to learn to count by 2's.

Little brother M is anxious to do his "school work" too and I have been reaching for A's old pre-school workbooks more and more.  Is he really old enough to start learning his letters and numbers?! Time seems to be passing way too quickly.

 Making silly faces for the camera:

Big sister A has been doing this gymnastics class for about 8 months now. It is ridiculous trying to photograph her from the parent observation deck upstairs, but a blurry action photo is better than nothing, right Grandmas?
They have 3 large trampolines and a tumble track trampoline.

Here she is getting ready to do the rings. This class is co-ed so they do some "boy" equipment which is cool. After the 5 year old class they split them up by genders so they can focus more on the various types of equipment.

On Thursday, I taught a little class about being a missionary in Russia to the youth at church (ages 12-17). It was a lot of work to prepare, but I had tons of fun doing it.
Here are some "doors". I asked them to choose which one they wanted to "knock on"  and then I had photos behind each door of people I knew from Russia. I told a story with each picture.

We did not have a lot of time so I decorated the entrance to our classroom with pictures of Russia and Russian culture so they could get a quick 60 second overview.

I served them tea and  cookies like a good Russian hostess. Of course, I also had to make them try "dirt" (xalva). We practiced some other missionary skills while we drank it.

 And we talked about ways that Russian culture and Mormonism are in sync using some of the examples on display (ie. preparedness, self sufficiency, christianity, emphasis on education, patriotism, and word of wisdom.)

On Friday at the nature center they read and discussed My Spring Robin.

We walked outside to look for robins. I learned the difference between a blue bird and a robin - which are easier to confuse than you would think.  We saw a couple blue birds, but no robins.
Then the kids made a craft with their foot print:

 You can tell by the size of the feet (or the blurriness) whose is whose. Big sister A colored hers all by herself and the teacher was very impressed. She also wrote some information about the bird. I had to help the boys do the coloring on theirs.

Reuse Recipe: Spice jar becomes seed waterer

Normally seedlings do better with watering from the bottom, but that does not jive with egg shell seed cups.  I saw something similar to this on pinterest (poked holes in a milk jug lid), but reusing a big spice container saved me the "hole-making" step.  It is a perfect way to gently water our little seedlings.

And as a bonus it is kid friendly as well:

Sew Special: Anna Maria Horner Portfolio Dress

I saw this dress on the Ivy Arch blog. I am a big fan of her bold fabric choices! I was surprised when I saw that it was made from one of Anna Maria's patterns.   I have been following Anna Maria Horner's blog for years. But I guess I did not recognize how cute her portfolio blouse/dress pattern could be until I saw it made up. Silly me.

I made 2 of these. One right after another. The directions were sadly lacking in illustrations, but I still learned some cool tricks from them and the pocket is brilliant.

Anna Maria Portfolio Dress Tunic

Anna Maria Portfolio Dress Tunic 2

Home Schooling Summary for Last Week

 More fun with "Snap it Up" -- Big sister A was assigned to make 10 words and she made quick work of it. She is also breezing through the Bob Books these days.

A group of ladies at church have started organizing regular weekly playdates in the church gymnasium. The kiddos rode scooters and played with balls. 

We were at the church gymnasium again on Thursday night for the Cub Scouts' Blue and Gold Banquet. Daddy was the Emcee (He is the Cub Master).

 Daddy came up with a new nickname for Baby S this week -- "Scarf". Because he always wants to lay on our necks now during the bedtime stories.

 Baby S also continues to be interested in doing everything the big kids do. He is demanding to brush his teeth before bed now, along side his siblings.

At the nature center this week we learned about how they tap the maple trees and make maple syrup.

We also visited the cabin home of a post-civil war (freed) African American family.

Big sister A got to try carrying the yoke that a child her age might have had to use to help haul water for the family.

Brother M and Baby S spent some time observing the beehive and trying to understand which parts were the honey.

We also took a look at the center's rocks and minerals collection. I liked the fossils the best.

Recommended Reading: Three Books

Lots of knitting this week meant listening to lots of audiobooks.

1. The Heist Society by Ally Carter 

My favorite character in the book is Uncle Eddy. He is an old fashioned thief, practices constantly, makes his own bread and cabbage soup, and has a large wooden table in his kitchen. I can relate to him. When the author described the warm smell of cabbage soup cooking in his cozy kitchen I was immediately transported to the many warm steamy kitchens that welcomed me in Russia.
I also loved the ethics/history lesson that the plot leads us through -- all the treasures stolen by the Nazis. It would be a fun book for teenagers to read as they are about to begin a unit on World War II. It is recommended on Amazon for ages 12 and up. I think that is reasonable.

2. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Everneath is another world-within-our-world that nobody knows about kind of story. Happily, it is based on mythology and contains none of the increasingly common vampire/werewolf stuff. The writing is engaging, but I kept wishing for more details... more explanations? I guess maybe she is saving some mystery for the second and third books. Recommended for ages 14 and up, since the story has a lot of emotional teenage angst.

3. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

I love the artwork on the cover of this book. Maybe that is why I keep picking it our of the childrens' audiobook section? It is short (176 pages), but funny in a sarcastic tongue in cheek way. We listened to it twice in the car. Big sister A's favorite part is when the children camouflage themselves throughout the house as various pieces of furniture. Recommended for ages 7 and over.

Garden Progress: Sprouting again

I am so happy it is time to start my veggies again. Tomatoes, peppers, and marigolds are growing so far. I am trying a new spot this year -- in my room. I know, weird right? It is the most southern of the exposures in our house. In other spots they have gotten too lanky and weak from reaching for the sun.  I might have to invest in a grow light if it does not work again this year.

 

Sew Special: What can you make with a pound of cotton yarn?

I may have already mentioned here somewhere about how much fun I had shopping the local craft stores on black friday.  One of the things I bought that day was a 1 pound skein of grey cotton yarn -- for about $5.50 if I remember right. Pretty good price for 2 baby gifts!

Here is what I made with it:
2 baby sweaters and 2 washcloths

Puerperium Cardigan

The newborn size of this pattern is free. That is what I used, though I bought and also highly recommend the pattern with all the sizes. The gauge is very tight and since I have made this a number of times I know they always come out bigger than size with my gauge.  I used the directions for worsted weight newborn size, but this is more like a 6 month size dress or 12 month old tunic.

The cardigan below comes from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, a proper baby version this time instead of a large mommy size one.

Baby Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts

I originally made it with only three button holes, but decided the neck was too wide and I thought it would be nice to add another button.  I referred to the amazingly talented Elizabeth Zimmerman's classic book Knitting Without Tears. She has directions for an "afterthought buttonhole".  It was just what I needed. 

I also made the buttons. I love fabric covered buttons. They look so cozy and they make it much easier to match and have just the right buttons for a project.