Day 51

Today's Activities:

• Piano practice - The girls are getting very good about taking initiative to practice the piano these days.

• Singapore Math

• Reading -
  

1. Madelyn - Chapter 3 & 4 of Trumpet of the Swan.
2. Catherine - Read The Kids' Cat Book by Tomie de Paola.
3. Chloe - Read Strega Nona: Her Story by Tomie de Paola.

• Grammar Lesson 21 for Madelyn.

• Writing - We worked on our alphabet book from our trip to Death Valley.

• Soccer practice for Catherine and PE at the park for everyone else
  

An aside...
The girls determined that we should do some spring cleaning. They set up an ambitious schedule but only made it through Madelyn's room today. I'm proud of their initiative and I can relate to the feelings of 'doneness' with housework.

Day 50

Today's Activities:

• Singapore Math

• Explora science class - Madelyn learned about changes in matter. The instructor used liquid nitrogen as a vessel for the lesson much to the children's delight. Catherine and Chloe learned about how fabric reacts to liquid. They topped off their lesson by making 'Mad Hatter' hats.

• Library - The girls all checked out non-fiction books on lions and other animals.

• Reading - Madelyn listened to the first chapter of Charlotte's Web. She also read the first chapter of Trumpet of the Swan as part of her E.B. White author study. Catherine & Chloe started their author study of Tomie de Paola. Catherine read Little Grunt and the Big Egg and Chloe read The Art Lesson.
  

• Ballet lesson for Catherine & Chloe
  

Day 49

Activities from March 25:

• We volunteered at the local food bank again. We put labels on diced green chile.
  

Day 48

Activities from March 24:

• Writing/art - We started brainstorming an alphabet book about our trip to Death Valley. We came up with ideas for every letter. For those letters we didn't have pictures of, the girls drew pictures. They did an amazing job including as much detail as they could remember/find.

• Singapore Math

• PE at park day

• Ballet lesson for Madelyn
  

Day 47

Activities from March 23:

• Singapore Math

• Mandarin lesson with Ms. Kitty

• Piano lessons with Ms. Linda
  

Day 46

Activities from March 22:

• Singapore Math

• Piano lessons

• Soccer practice for Catherine and PE park play for everyone else
  

Day 45

Activities from March 21:

• Singapore Math - After a two-week break the girls picked up where they left off. Madelyn is studying money and Catherine & Chloe are learning about multiplication.

• Explora science class - Madelyn learned about using simple machines to 'muscle up'. C & C learned about the body and its systems.
  

• Piano practice

• Ballet lessons for C & C
  

Days 41 thru 44

Activities from March 7 to March 10:

We spent four days exploring Death Valley National Park. The children completed the Junior Ranger program. We learned so much about geology, geography, and habitat during our stay.
We are currently working on an alphabet book featuring our Death Valley fun and photos. I'll try to remember to link it here when it's done.

Day 40

Activities from March 4:

We took a two week Spring Break in March. On our way to Death Valley National Park (the educational part of the trip) we stopped in Las Vegas, Nevada and enjoyed an afternoon at the Lied Discovery Children's Museum.

Harrison enjoyed pretending to be an airline pilot.
Catherine and Sam use teamwork to envelop themselves in a bubble curtain.
The girls tried out a wind simulator. It simulated hurricane force winds.
I got in on the action too! I tried out an exhibit that demonstrated how spin speed is affected by having your arms and legs out versus tucked in close to your body.
We spent another part of the day observing animals. First was the lion exhibit inside the Outdoor World store. We also saw live lions during our trip in the MGM.
There was an amazing aquarium at the Silverton Lodge. We spent hours observing the fish (educational) while we waited for the mermaid show (not educational).
We also observed these Chilean flamingos. Their grass is heated to keep them warm enough.
Also, a black-necked swan made our list of animals to visit and observe.
We did a math lesson while at M&M World. Each child was to pour a 1/4 lb.of M&M's into their bag. Catherine was first and wow, did she go over. Dad helped everyone else to make closer estimates. Then, we calculated how much we'd spend for the 2 lbs. of M&M's. It was a non-example lesson as the total bill was $26.
We also did some PE while playing at the 9-hole mini-golf course at our RV resort. The children also enjoyed swimming daily.
While we made the most of our day in Las Vegas, the culture there is not to our liking. We were able to have some good family discussions about our family's values in the face of all the non-examples Las Vegas had to offer. Yes, we are all learning in this process.

Day 39

Today's Activities:

• Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine

• Reading -

1. Madelyn - Read Stranger in the Mirror. Completed 5 W's and H worksheet.
   
2. Catherine - Read Purple Plastic Purse. Completed 5 W's and H worksheet with my help.
3. Chloe - Read Owen. Completed 5 W's and H worksheet with my help.

• Singapore Math

• Mandarin lesson with Ms. Kitty

• Piano lessons with Ms. Linda
  

Day 38

Today's Activities:

• Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine

• Reading -
  

1. Madelyn - Read Tea with Milk by Allen Say. She completed a main ideas graphic organizer. I learned that reading and its response really needs to be done together so that the full lesson is realized.
2. Catherine - Read Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes. She completed a main ideas graphic organizer as well.
3. Chloe - Read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and completed the same graphic organizer.

• Grammar - Lessons 19 & 20 from Primary Language Lessons for Madelyn
• Spelling - Word sort of more short-e/long-e words for C & C

• Singapore Math - Madelyn has moved from measurement to money. Catherine and Chloe are trying to understand how and when to use multiplication.

• Rotations: 15 min. on piano; 15 min. handwriting; 15 min. journal writing
  

• Science field trip to the Aquarium

• Soccer practice for Catherine and PE park time for everyone else.
  

Day 37

Monday's Activities:

• Piano practice

• Madelyn - Lesson 18 in Primary Language Lessons. Madelyn is working on strategies for memorization. She amazes me with how quickly she learns new content.
  

• Singapore Math

• Explora science classes - Madelyn experimented with polymers and Catherine & Chloe played with springs and other bouncy things!

• Arts & Crafts class at community center

• Reading -
  

1. Madelyn- Read Bicycle Man by Allen Say. Completed oral retell of story. Explained how this book is similar to the book she read Sunday by the same author.
2. Catherine - Read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes with me. Discussed similarities to Sunday's book.
3. Chloe - Read Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. Discussed similarities to Sunday's book.

• Ballet lessons for Catherine & Chloe