Marbles, Chopsticks, Rocks, and More

Spray Bottle, Marbles, Chopsticks, and a 24-month-old
The older kids like to fill the bottle with marbles (24-month-old gives up after 5 marbles or so), and the 24-month-old likes to add chopsticks. I rather like the presentation factor.



Fastening Mommy's Watch
Upon request from the almost-5-year old, he was allowed to have my watch and the little watch pillow to practice fastening and unfastening a watch. He has an amazing amount of patience for these tasks.



Ice Trays and Cotton Balls
A kitty ice tray has become a great tool for practicing all kinds of fine motor skills. The ice try was filled with cotton balls and the 24-month-old was removing the cotton balls with tweezers and then refilling the ice tray upon completion. The same day, the 24-month-old also practiced filling our usual ice trays with a 2-cup measure of water. These acivities are popular with the 7-year-old and the almost-5-year-old as well.



Easter Egg Tray and Pinto Beans
I think this Easter egg tray is so cute, but it has not been as popular as I would have thought for the kids. I placed 12 pinto beans on the little pink tray and I demonstrated with my pincher fingers putting one bean per hole. My 24-month-old only enjoyed this as long as I was at her side, and the minute I turned to help the older children, she began dumping both the pink tray and the bunny tray on the floor and everywhere else (effective strike). On previous strikes, I have removed the offending item, but this time I tried once more and stayed with her until she completed the task. Upon seeing that each hole had a bean and that she had used all the beans from the floor and her lap, she seemed quite pleased with herself.



Rock Bath
A dear relative who loves to shop asked my 7-year-old what she could bring her from the country of Oman. And my sweet child asked for rocks. :) So here are her beloved rocks receiving their first American bath.



The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.
Deuteronomy 32:4

Washing and Peeling Potatoes Outside

Today we washed and peeled potatoes outside. I would love to get back to the roots of food preparation - inspired by nomads and others that posh society deems as uncivilized. It is so much more fun to do anything outside for children - even in bad weather. Today it was 80 degrees and sunny so damp clothing was no big deal.



Children love produce and and they love water. So it doesn't get much better than dunking potatoes in a bowl of water and scrubbing them with a wash rag. This is a popular activity at our house and begins about when they can sit in a high chair. The children will spend so much time washing the produce that I will eventually have to order them to give over the vegetable for food prep. Today the almost-5-yr and 24 mos. were participating.



After washing the potatoes, the almost-5-yr and 7 yr olds were given the task of peeling potatoes while I helped the 24 mos. use the potato water to water the plants (so she would not be trying to take their peelers away). She loved pouring the water from the bowl through the funnel this time, but I made the mistake of using all the water in one trip so the distraction activity was not nearly long enough.



It just so happened that the 7 yr who is well acquainted with a peeler was using her peeler to stab the potato and therefore lost the privilege of peeling and given the privilege of distracting the 24 month old. Oh, the joys of parenting.



I greatly assisted in the orderliness of these pictures, though it is my hope that I will some day succeed in teaching my children the "clean up" routine so that it will become habit, requiring no thought from them nor direction from me.



There were other things I wanted to add to this post, but this will have to do for now!

May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.
Ruth 2:12

Canada Geese Nesting on our Pond

We have been thrilled to watch a pair of Canada geese nesting on our neighborhood's pond. In a neighborhood of 1500 homes, we greatly appreciate ANY glimpses of creation. The female goose has not left her nest in at least a week and the gander (male goose) keeps watch usually from the pond.



Did you know that the geese go through a molting phase and during that phase they cannot fly? Then they regrow their flight feathers and their goslings grow their first flight feathers and off they go. I also thought it was interesting that the gander is incredibly protective of the eggs, but once the goslings hatch, the parents will sometimes care for goslings other than their own.



The pictures on this post are (1) the gander coming to tell us to buzz off (2) the goose on her nest and (3) a picture of the landscape surrounding the nest.

The following links have info on the Canada geese which I then used to teach the kids and create pictures cards:

Kidzone
Great Plains Nature Center
Biokids
U.S. Humane Society
Canada Geese and Parasites Article
Personal Account of Canada Geese Nesting

And we found out at kidwings.com that it is illegal in the States to collect native bird feathers (to protect the birds). The site that has that information has GREAT bird information, like pictures and labels of feather types, bird diagrams, and more.

I used the printables maker at senteacher.org to create pictures cards with labels. The search engine was able to find pictures of goslings, a nesting goose, a swimming goose, a flight in v-formation, a clutch of eggs, and a molted feather (I didn't know birds molt!). I am still trying to figure out how I can post those picture cards.

I love homeschooling - I never would have researched Canada goose unless God had forced us to homeschool - now I can't get enough!

But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
    And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
    And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
    That the hand of the LORD has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
    And the breath of all mankind?
Job 12:7-10

Continent Study at the Zoo

Sweet Daddy took us to the zoo today. It was a spur of the moment trip and my 7 yr asked if i could make the trip into a scavenger hunt (a GREAT teaching tool we've used previously). Instead of making a list for her, we grabbed a piece of paper, a pencil, and our world continents map and went on our way.

Our zoo has a continents map on each animal exhibit. The kids (7 and 4) have been hearing alot about South America - its animals and the rainforest and Amazon river. So first we decided to make a list of all the animals at the zoo that were from South America. There were only three, so it was an easy assignment. And then we decided to tally the number of animals from each continent on the continent map. The race was close between Africa and Asia, but Africa won in the end.

We only spent a little over an hour at the zoo before it closed and we practically ran to the different exhibits, but the kids had a blast and we only skipped a few exhibits due to time. I can't wait to see what God will teach us on our next visit to the zoo!

So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.
Genesis 7:15-16

Tent Caterpillars - Webs in Trees

Wow! The tent caterpillars have made their webs in the trees and there are TONS of them crawling in and out of the webs. Honestly they gross me out but the kids are fascinated. Unfortunately, the tent caterpillars are destructive little things and a third of the leaves on the most infested tree are gone.



We did not know the name of the caterpillars so we called our local nature center and they gave us the "tent" caterpillar name. After researching on the web, we found their life cycle and more interesting facts like predators and natural protection methods.




Life Cycle and Pictures
Moth Picture
Natural Pest Control
Wikipedia

If we were organized, I might print the pictures of the moth and different life stages and make them into cards. Then I'd put a circular item on the floor and tell a story about grandmother moth, etc. going around the circle. We did that for the frog life cycle and my 4 yr still practices the story with the life cycle cards by himself. We used the bottom of my sewing tin as our circular container. Thank you Lord for these fun yet simple ideas! The favorite parts of the story might involve some predator action but the kids remember and understand it!

"I smote you with scorching wind and mildew;
And the caterpillar was devouring
Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.
Amos 4:9

States 101

The kids (7 and 4) fight over our interactive globe and like to be quizzed on states, countries, and continents that they know. Inspired by Montessori map studies, we ventured into the realm of pin-pushing a state (from the U.S.) to learn some new states in a fun fashion.

My 7 yr old picked Iowa which I of course knew NOTHING about and so began the hunt. Found some fun stuff. And 7 yr liked most of it - except the part where I mistakenly thought she might like to read a Wikipedia page about Iowa (I liked it) - gotta stick to the "living books" as Charlotte Mason would call them.

The best sites we have found for doing history research are museum websites. Many times they will have interactive games and booklists for children. The following games were a hit for my 7 yr.

INTERACTIVE IOWA SITES
President Hoover Hats - Interactive with Fun Facts
Iowa State Symbols and Facts Quiz
Historical Iowa Farm Picture Quiz

GENERAL STATE INFORMATION
State Symbols Pictures

BACKYARDIGANS DVD with W-IOWA Episode
Amazon

MONTESSORI PIN PUSHING
MONTESSORI Journey - Continenet PIN PUSHING
Montessori Journey - United States Pin Pushing

PRINTABLES
State Nomenclature and Abbreviations - Pictures of Flag, Bird, Flower, etc.
United States Maps

LIBRARY BOOK
Numbers in a row:an Iowa number book / written by Patricia A. Pierce

FUN FACTS
* Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote "Little House on the Prairie" lived in Iowa with her family for a short time.
* Corn Palaces (yes, miniature palaces made of corn) were built in Iowa to celebrate the corn harvest in the late 1800's.

Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10

***************************************************
MY FAVORITE BLOGS ADDITION
Montessori-Work
Teacher blogging about her Montessori classroom.

FREE PRINTABLES WEBSITE ADDITON
enchantedlearning

Freed Slave and Pioneer

Many of our field trips have included trips to former plantations since we live in the southern United States. These former plantations provide a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about slavery. Today we read a book about a freed slave who bravely searched the country for her daughter who had been sold apart from her when she was 10 years old. As usual, I could barely finish reading aloud to my daughter. We live in such a cushy world with our field trips and soccer. May we not forget what has gone on before us and what still goes on today.

Aunt Clara Brown Offical Pioneer

Apology from a Racist

O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name
Nehemiah 1:11

ADDED TO FAVORITE BLOGS
Montessori Spanish
Wide range of topics in a Montessori education.