Catching Up

Things have gotten pretty hectic here as of late.  The substitute jobs have started to pour in and I have even been specially requested for a few.  I have cut my shifts at Barnes and Noble down to two or three per week.  While I miss working there more often, I am enjoying the time at home with Dan and the girls.

Recently, we have had some visitors.  Kylie came in for her birthday and St. Patrick's Day weekend.  She got to ride the Metra by herself for the first time.  This was an adventure for her, and Dan was there to put her on the train.  He is a good host.

Then, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Liz and Max came in for a visit. 

Jeff playing mandolin and Max playing fiddle while Liz watches and listens

Max (Matt) is a great fiddle player.

They were really here for a bluegrass festival, but the girls would like to thing that they solely came to see them.  We went to the festival to see what all the fuss is about and found it mesmorizing.

Jeff has a soft spot for our girls, I think...

So does Liz!

Bluegrass music just makes Abby want to dance!

Then, Dan, the girls and I took Max to Legoland for the afternoon.  I don't care how old you are, everyone loves to sit down and play with Legos.  Seriously.

Juli is tickled pink by this Lego man.

Dan, Max and the girls.

Max loves Star Wars, so we had to take his picture with R2D2.

Ok, I might like Star Wars, too.

Could not pass up the chance to have my picture taken with one of my favorite literary characters.  Do you know which one he is?

Daddy playing with our not-so-little girl.

In homeschooling, we have been focusing on science.  The girls have been learning about the human body.  This has been fascinating for them and I really think they like it.  Juli has been taking the book to bed with her each evening and lifting the flaps to look at all of the parts.

Samara is coming this weekend and next week Aunt DeDe and Uncle Craig will be here, too.  Fun!!

Snow Day

We are having our first snow day of Winter 2012/2013 here in Chicagoland.  I was actually shocked that they called it last night when it had not even started snowing yet.  However, since the chance of snow was predicted at 100%, I am guessing they felt pretty secure in this decision.  Sitting here looking out the window, I can see how parents who are fortunate enough to have a bus pick their children up (we live too close to the school for this at .8 of a mile) would feel antsy about having the kiddos come home on such slippery streets.

Soooo, we have had our own version of school here.  We studied Samuel in the Bible and then started our science lesson in this book.

Usborne Flip Flap Body Book by Alistair Smith

Sorry about the really small picture, but as I tried to make it bigger, it became really distorted.  I really like Usborne books - they are high quality in terms of materials and they are straightforward with regard to science.  Today we learned about where our food goes.  As you can imagine, when we got to the part where food exits the body, there was some giggling.  Aaaand the girls learned a new word for that body part.  We had always called it the "pooper" or "butt" before, but now they know the proper name.  Not sure if this is a good thing or not...

Snow days...gotta love them.

Min

Social Studies Unit

WOW!  Let me just start by saying, holy totsicles, it is cold in Lake County, Illinois!  I have not experienced this kind of cold before.  I love it, though.  Never have been a summer gal... I prefer wearing warm sweaters and snuggling under blankets to sweating and stinking any day.

We are just starting our new social studies unit.  Again - this is for the younger kiddos, ages three to four and we are using Sonlight core curriculum.  We are reading this book:

What Do People Do All Day by Richard Scarry

Richard Scarry is a classic artist and author.  This book helps to give youngsters an overview on careers, how a house runs, and mailing a letter, among other things.  It also gives children a better perspective of the world around them and how they fit into it.

We started out by talking about a typical town and the careers that are a part of it.  It was just a few pages, but it got her thinking - I could see the wheels turning.  Then we asked her what she thought  she wanted to be when she grew up.  She does not know what she wants to be, but she knows she does NOT want to be a teacher.  If I had to predict, I would say that Jules will be in some sort of law enforcement or leadership position.  Abby wants to be a teacher like Mommy - that apple does not fall far from the tree in many respects.

Next time, we will explore a home and what makes it run.  It will be fun to walk her around our own house and show her things like the water heater, plumbing, etc.

We are at Mom's in Virginia for the long weekend, so there is fun to be had.

Laters.

Min

Our Fairy Tale Unit

We have spent the majority of January and the first part of February studying fairy tales - what a fun unit this has been!  As I wrote before, we started by reading Thumbelina, Dan the Dunce, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Ducking and The Nightengale.  These are such fun stories to read and we did cute activities with each of them, too.  We are reading them from this book:

A First Book of Fairy Tales by Mary Hoffman

We continued our fairy tale unit by reading The Selfish Giant first.  The moral of this one is to share, because it makes everyone happier in the end, including you!  Then we practiced caring for our plants by watering the ones in the house.  Here is a link to where you can by this book, if you just want this particular story.  It is never too early to introduce a child to Oscar Wilde!

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

The next story we read was Jack and the Beanstalk.  Again, we read the version in A First Book of Fairy Tales, but here is a link to an individual version.  A really great story about a boy who uses his quick wits to improve his family's life.  After we read this, we planted more seeds to see what else we could grow...this time, it was corn.

Jack and the Beanstalk retold by Steven Kellogg

Then we moved on to this story:

Sleeping Beauty by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by K.Y. Craft

We did not read the Brothers Grimm version (we are not ready for Grimm yet, but I look forward to those days!) but this is the version that I would buy if it weren't already in our book.  After this, we cut an apple in half sideways so that the girls could see the star inside.  I showed them how this would be a great stamper!  We enjoyed the apple for a snack.

A few days later, we moved on to The Frog Prince.

The Frog Prince by Brothers Grimm, retold by Edith Tarcov

After reading this book, what else could we do but hop around like frogs?

We then read a story I had never even heard of before - but I love it!

Diamonds and Toads - a Russian fairy tale

This is a great story about not coveting what someone else has.  Kind of a biblical moral, but told in a Cinderella-esque way.

Have you ever read The Fisherman and His Wife?  What a great tale!

The Fisherman and His Wife retold by Rachel Isadora

This is also a fairy tale about greed and how being greedy can cause you more trouble than it is worth.  The reason I recommend this version is because I enjoy the art of Rachel Isadora, who has won the Caldecott medal before.

We read one of my favorites - The Princess and the Pea.  I really relish the knowledge that I am introducing Juliana to these fairy tales.  I want her to hear them in their non-Barbie, non-Disney form before seeing them all commercialized.  I have nothing against Barbie and Disney (in fact, I wish I had stock in them), but it is important for kids to know that these stories have been around a lot longer than their favorite toys and movies have been.

The Princess and the Pea - a Little Golden Book!

I love that this is available as a Little Golden Book!

The last fairy tale that we read (and it will be the last one for a little while, as we are heading in to our social studies unit) is The Snow Queen - another one that I was not familiar with, but certainly a great one!

The Snow Queen by Susan Jeffers

Loving the art in this version of the story!  The fact that it encourages friendship between boys and girls is just the icing on top!

We are, of course, continuing with our bible stories, too.  We have moved into Judges and the story of Joshua.  Next, we will move onto Samson and Delilah - one of my favorites.

Soon, we will be learning about working, keeping house, and mailing a letter.  That's it for now!

Mindi