Butterflies

We got a Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore. Our little caterpillars arrived and have been growing so fast. 4.12.08

We made little caterpillars with chenille stems by wrapping them around a pencil. We cut out leaves for them to munch on. And punched holes to show where they've nibbled. (find this craft here.)


And then one day...about 10 days after their arrival...our first chrysalis. 4.18.08

We colored a Butterfly Life Cycle chart. 4.22.08


We used a hot plate covered with foil to draw with melting crayons. When we hung our butterflies up on the window, the sun made them glow. 4.24.08


And then...our butterflies hatched. First just one. Like the chrysalis. Then the next four all at once. 4.28.08

We took a nature walk in the yard looking for flowers with the trumpet shapes. We gathered them and put them in our Butterfly Garden.

The butterflies liked the Bird of Paradise. Mom dripped some sugar water into the cup shape of the bloom.


We did another butterfly craft. Luke practiced reading a chart. 4.30.08

And finally, it was time to let the butterflies go. We released them into our yard. And the next day, a few of them were still hanging around. I'm sure they were happy with our plants that were chosen because the make good food for butterflies and humming birds. 5.1.08

Barn Dance

Though not an actual FIAR book, this week we read Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault to go with our field trip to Amy's Farm.

We've done lots watercolor before, but didn't have much luck with these pre-printed ones. Until now. L has the patience to paint one color at a time, and clean the brush in-between.

We colored a mural of a Farm. I found this on-line somewhere. I sketched it on our 36" wide roll for us to color together.

We did pastel drawings. I love my nu-pastels. This set I've had since college. These were an exercise in following directions. My mom brought over a binder titled 'Brain Games for Learning Gains.' These drawings were in there, the kids draw them from my words without seeing an example of what they are drawing. For the pig: Draw a large circle. Then, draw a circle inside for the head. Then a smaller circle for the snout. Add eyes, triangle ears, hooves (pull down straight, slide right, slant up, slant down, slide right, push up straight...the same language that is in our manuscript curriculum), and a curly-que tail. L chose green.

T chose orange. And he had a little help. He's been drawing circles clockwise. That won't work as we begin manuscript practise. I need to help his hand understand counter-clockwise. We have a few months since he doesn't start Kinder until the fall, but I want him to form good habits.

Then the barn. This was a horizontal rectangle, topped with a pentagon. Then I asked them to draw a square in the top shape and put an X in it. I had them draw the bottom door and windows too. Then, L did his own thing.

T wanted to surround his barn in mud. I had him practise counter-clockwise circles for the tree and sun. He really wanted to see what happened when you smudge the pastels.

R enjoyed this one too. She took a nap after she colored hers and that let me have time with just the boys.

All in all, this was a great week. I really need to remember to pull out the art supplies more often.

Amy's Farm

L's account of our fieldtrip

Address: 7698 Eucalyptus Ave. Ontario, CA. 91762 Admission cost: $5 per person I went with my NOW group. My mom, my brother, and my sister. This place is known for taking the baby cows from the neighboring farms to take care of them. I think the most special or unique thing about this place is that a family actually lives there. I saw kids go through a secret gate into their fort. The first thing I noticed was the roosters. We heard them crowing when we were getting out of the car.

I learned how to feed a baby cow. That was my favorite part of the day. It was my favorite because it was new to me. The big bottle was silly looking. And, the baby cow sucked so hard that it was difficult to hold the bottle.

Another favorite thing I saw was baby chicks. I also got to feed a pig, pet the goats, pet a sheep, and hold a bunny rabbit.

What surprised me the most was how big a cow actually is. This is Mama Tina. She is 12 years old, and has had 8 babies. She is about 5' Tall and 9' long. She is a Swiss Cow.

I didn’t like the goats, because I thought they were going to eat my shirt.

I would tell someone not to miss holding the bunnies. They’re so soft.

The weather was hot. Next time I won’t forget my hat. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would rate this place… a 363. Because…I loved feeding the cows. And here's Gus. We saw him at the very end.

Andy And The Lion

This week, since we would be "traveling to Kenya," I chose a FIAR book about Lions. (We'll continue to study a different African animal during the 5 weeks we study nations of Africa. And as a surprise we'll finish off our study with a visit to the Wild Animal Park or the San Diego Zoo.)

We read Andy And The Lion by James Daugherty.

L's summary: Andy went to the library. He got a book about lions. He took it home and read it. He read all evening. He read all through breakfast. The Andy walked to school. He saw something move. Andy and his dog looked closer. It was a LION. Andy though he should be going. The lion thought that too. They ran and ran. Then Andy needed to catch his breath. So did the lion. They both stopped running. The lion showed Andy he had a thorn in his paw. Andy said, "Just hold on a minute." Andy always carried a pair of pliers in the back pocket of his overalls. Andy pulled on the thorn with all his might. It popped out. The lion said, "Thank-you." Andy went to school.

Andy loved going to the circus. The lion jumped over the steel cage. ROAR! went the lion. The people were terrified. Andy was in the lions pathway. Then they recognized each other. It was Andy's own lion. The lion didn't hurt Andy. Then the people came back to capture the lion. Andy said, "Wait, don't hurt this lion. He's a friend of mine."

The next day there was a parade with the lion. Andy got a medal for bravery. The End.

We also read Dandelion By Don Freeman

L's summary: Dandelion went outside to look in the mail. There was an invitation for a party at Madame Giraffe's house. It said, "Please come to my party." Dandelion said, "Good. I'm having a haircut today and I can get some fancy hairstyle for the party." The person at the barber shop told him to get a cane to go with his new hair-do. Dandelion went to get a cane and the cane person told him to go to a store and buy a checkered shirt so he would look fancy. Dandelion found the shirt and bought it. Then he went to the party. Dandelion knocked on the door. The giraffe answered and said, "You came to the wrong address." because she didn't know who he was. She slammed the door in Dandelion's face. He walked away. Then there was a big storm. The rain washed away his cane, his shirt, and his hat. It flatened his hair. Dandelion went back to Giraffe's house and rang the doorbell. All his friends were waiting for him. Madame Giraffe asked if Dandelion was stuck in the rain. Dandelion said, "Y-E-S!" Madame Giraffe told Dandelion about the silly lion at her door. Dandelion said, "It was me." They all laughed so hard, and Dandelion almost spilled his cup of tea. Madame Giraffe said, "I will never shut the door on anybody again." Dandelion said, "From now on, I'll be just me."

And we used the November 2006 issue of Your Big Backyard to further study lions.

Valentine's Day

Our NOW group had a party @ A&E's house. The kids and the mom's had so much fun.

They made tissue paper -- Modge Podge -- flower vases. And a tissue paper flower to go in them.

They made mini mailboxes and then exchanged valentines with the other kids.

Then they enjoyed their own sack lunches. And frosted cupcakes after lunch. The kids all ran around and played in A's dress up clothes. They had a blast! And came home for a good nap.

Today was also Luke's first Piano/Guitar lesson. I know this is going to be a great fit for him.

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Our FIAR book this week is Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricial Polacco. This will be a great week for L to learn about his heritage. Dad's side of the family is Russian and Jewish.

Mrs. Katz is lonely after she loses her husband. But Larnel and Tush become her "family". There are lots of yiddish words that make this a fun story. We read this book 5 times, and we checked out other books on Passover to understand the holiday. We also read about the original 'passover' in a Children's Bible.

We made Horosote, one of the traditional items on a Seder plate.

We used 3 apples diced 1/2c. chopped nuts and dried fruit 1/4 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. sugar 2 t. honey 3 T. apple juice

I didn't make it to the store for Matoz, so we used graham crackers for our yummy snack.

Centennial Heritage House

Mom interviewed L about his fieldtrip. This is what he had to say... This place is known for: being over 100 years old. The first thing I noticed was: that they have a Blacksmith Shop. I learned about: a Victrola (the record player), a stereoscope (a picture viewer), a telephone with a crank.

I learned how to play a pump organ, make butter, and wash laundry with a scrub board and a crank wringer. I liked the crank wringer. I wish we had one. I would help my mom with laundry every day.

They had different clothes pins a long time ago too, to hang up their clothes to dry. The kids would play a fun game with the clothes pins.

My favorite thing was: the special “mustache cup” that Mr. Kellogg used. It was my favorite because it had a special way to keep his handlebar mustache clean while drinking. This kept Mr. Kellogg from getting a “milk moustache”. I didn’t like: that it rained. It was cold when we were eating our oranges. I went with my N.O.W. group. It was a really fun trip. I wish we could do it again.

Swiss Cocoa & Dasies

I wanted to continue with our FIAR time enhancing our NOW time. There wasn't a FIAR book with Switzerland in the topic, so I was delighted to find Cocoa Beans and Daisies: How Swiss Cocoa is Made, by Pascale Allamand. L loved this. He said it was just like How It's Made. I loved the layout of the book. The left pages chronicled the cocoa beans in Africa and their travels to Switzerland. The right pages showed Swiss cows and the process path of the milk. Swiss Milk Chocolate has a special flavor because of the dasies the cows love to eat.

We tasted unsweetened cocoa powder. The kids were suprised that chocolate isn't sweet. It's the sugar added to it that makes it candy. We made a chocolate "fondue" for desert.

We dipped graham sticks, marshmallows, and banana slices.

We drank hot cocoa and made sculpture out of marshmallows.

See the bear's tiny cup of cocoa. And with a real cup of cocoa right there, how could the bear not want to jump in. A chocolatey hot tub. The giraffe wanted to drink too.

He's a bit too top-heavy and fell in.

We talked about the different climate in Africa and Switzerland. The cocoa beans grow in the rainforest. The cows thrive munching on cool grasses.

Switzerland

The kids had a blast learning about Switzerland from C. They tasted Swiss Cheese. They took turns playing an accordion. And they yodeled. Here's a map with land forms... And another one with landmarks...

Switzerland is cool because so many different languages are spoken.