What We've Been Into...

This post will be scattered and random, so I'll apologize in advance. We started a unit study on the solar system focusing mainly on learning the order of the planets from the sun and the basic characteristics of each planet so they could be recognized from a picture. I used a little planet unit study I got off Currclick as my jumping off point. I did not feel the approach it did would be the best for my kids, so I gleaned an idea here and there and then did what I always do....tweak it til it screams! We have a black posterboard that I sprayed with space dust (watered down white paint flicked on with a paintbrush) We pasted the sun on yesterday, since it was our first object studied. Everytime we study a planet, it will get pasted in it's order from the sun. We also will be filling in a Solar System Book. I made a page using Microsoft Word that has the name of the planet in the color of the planet, there is a blank circle for them to color as the planet, a writing strip where they will trace the name of the planet and then we'll add a lapbook embellishment of some kind with a few facts about each planet. I will post pictures of this book further into the study. There will be lots of projects coming up... I'm so excited!

Yesterday, we studied the sun. We read a book called "Hot and Bright" which has great illustrations and is short , concise, and to the point without losing any intrigue. We made sunprints which are so neat. Simple and no clean-up... my kind of project!

You'll have to really look as the camera didn't capture it very good...And Goober aggravated Tucker to no end...We had a science experiment geared up, but it was so cold it didn't work, so we'll have to try it again on a warmer day. We're still doing our Native American unit, and added another feature to our lapbook. I printed off some pockets and found some neat illustrations of different clothing from different tribes and made little card for each region's tribes to stick in the pockets.

Did a really neat activity the other day during Devotion time. We read about Abraham and Issac on Mount Moriah and talked about trusting God even when you don't understand and can't see things clearly. It started as that and ended up being a nice little talk about God's leading us through this life. I put chairs and stools and tables all over the living room , (these were the dangers and obstacles that faced us each day that we don't see) The plan was that the kids would be blindfolded and I would get them safely through the maze by either telling them "left" or "right" or touching the shoulder of the direction they should go to avoid the obstacle. However, the kids freaked out and I ended up being the one blindfolded and let them lead me through the maze. It actually worked out better. If I came close to an obstacle, they'd scream "Stop!" or "Watch Out!" Then, they'd take my hand and gently pull me the direction I needed to go. They worked together and got me through the maze without a broken leg. I know, you're probably saying "You let your children blindfold you! You have to be crazy." No, I'm not. I have a confession, I made sure I could sneak a peek when needed...Hey! I didn't exactly have the Lord leading me, now did I? I had a five year old who giggled the whole time and a three year old who doesn't know left from right! But, it served to illustrate the point. For your viewing pleasure, here's the little goobers leading a blindfolded Chloe through the maze. By the way, at the end, it looks like they throw her down. They don't... she tripped over the couch . And don't worry, her little nose was poking through, she could breathe fine...

I love file folder games and so do the kids. I made a game for Jack last night that will help him practice his patterning skills. Here's a pic and I believe it will be self explanatory how the game is played.

Okay, so here's the latest pictures of Chloe doing what she does best...bucking the line to the bathtub.

So, that's about it for the highlights....pretty exciting time, eh?