Morning Routine: Calendar, Virtue, & Chores
This past week the boys worked on being content. That can be a hard thing to really get little ones to fully understand. We talked about having our "wanters" under control and to be happy with all we have here. The boys did a pretty good job at not asking for things this week. They don't ever ask for toys, but they are always asking if we can stop for ice cream or get a special treat at the store. This week, when we visited to grocery store they only asked for one thing and after being reminded that we have plenty, they didn't ask for anything else.
I am still really working with one of the boys that seems to really struggle with being content in his daily life. He is always asking me what he can do because he is bored, can he have a snack, can he watch TV. He is never content to just sit and play while the other two boys will go and play on their own. Trying to teach him that it is okay to have down moments and that I do not need to be the one to always entertain him. Isn't that what his brothers are for?
Our Virtue wall
For some reason this week I was having a very difficult time fitting Five in a Row into our schedule. I decided to extend both of our books to cover two weeks instead of one. The older boys are reading Another Celebrated Dancing Bear and learning about Russia, The Nutcracker & Tchaikovsky. Britton is reading Ask Mr. Bear and is learning about farm life, plants from seeds to flowers, and we are having a surprise "un-birthday" party next week!
Science
Greyson and Lincoln are continuing to learn about birds. They have been listening to a bird call CD and hoping by the end of the week that they will be able to identify the birds by their calls. They are also learning about the different calls & warnings that birds make.
Britton really didn't have too much in science this week. He did join in on a few of our bird lessons. But, we did make "dancing raisins", which had him completely amazed. He kept saying he was doing magic! Always a fun and quick experiment to show the kids.
100 Book Challenge
We are reading The BFG by Roald Dahl. The boys are loving it! I have never read this book before, but so many great lessons and thoughts to be taken from this book. Hoping to finish it in the next couple days. We are having trouble putting it down. If you have never read this book, check it out!
Math, Reading & Art
Britton has been completing most of his math on his own. He is working on number formation, tally marks, and money. Lincoln is working on adding 4 digit numbers and multiplying. Greyson is working on long division, congruent vs. similar, and coordinates.
Everyone is doing great with silent reading. The librarians even mentioned that the boys read a ton of books during the week! That make s me happy to hear!
Greyson and Lincoln worked on a Russian onion dome art project this week and Britton started making puppets of the animals in his BFIAR book.
Story of the World
This week, we were learning about Gladiators. We read a few great books about gladiators and really learned how terrible it would have been to be a gladiator. It was really disturbing to think that most people thought that watching gladiators die was acceptable. The boys also learned about the Roman aqueducts and built one out of Legos.
Extracurricular Activities
This week was jammed packed with extra activities after school. We actually made it to every. single. one. this week. Piano, swimming 3 times a week, soccer, play dates, Clayworks, chess club...whoa. I was exhausted! But, the weather has been beautiful this week and much cooler than usual, so it has been great to get the boys outside and play.
Special Moments
We stopped at our local little convenience store in the neighborhood to say goodbye to one of the owners. Their shop is closing after 10 years and being replaces by a 7/11. We will miss Wee and her wonderful family. We loved stopping in there and getting ice cream. The boys are very sad about where they are going to go and also concerned that the 7/11 will not have the same selection of ice cream.
We had our first Science Saturday with a few of the boy's friends. This month was all about fossils. The kids learned about paleontologists, had to "excavate" chocolate chip from the cookies, made their own fossils, and got to design and then create their own dinosaur. We then watched a Magic School Bus that went along with dinosaurs. We all had a really fun time!
And...here is Britton, age 4, riding his bike! Happy 5th week of school! Take a breath. Now on to week 6!
I did not like that 5 in a row book. I need to purchase We Choose Virtues this week, I have been meaning to do it for some time now. I just bought the BFG from a friend who raved about it we are planning on starting it after we Get through The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Little House of the Prairie.
ReplyDeleteThe first time we went through that book, I did not like it either. Greyson and I could hardly get through it. But, I am glad I gave it a second chance. Greyson and I actually both like it this time through. I don't know what changed, but I found some great things to do on Russia, so maybe that's it. The BFG is great. The boys are loving it. They also loved The Mouse & the Motorcycle!! Love that you spend time reading with your kiddos!
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