We worked on finishing up our unit on prairie life and our FIAR story of the week, Three Names. In the story, it mentioned that the kids have to use a hand pump to get the water from the well. So, we read a story about ground water and discussed how we should take care of the ground water. Each of the boys made a poster about keeping the water clean. (I forgot to take a picture. I did a terrible job this week.)
Then, we used our water filtration kit to see how really dirty water can be cleaned. It is pretty amazing to think that the water we drink starts off pretty dirty. The boys loved this activity and we were all surprised at how clean the water was in the end.
Our story also takes place in tornado alley and mentions tornadoes in the book. We looked up where tornado alley is in America. I always thought tornado alley was right in the center of the country, but tornado alley actually extends all the way over the northwest Ohio, where we are originally from! Maybe they have updated the map with all the crazy weather that has happened in the last couple of years. We read a book on tornadoes and also pulled out our tornado bottle connector and made a tornado in a bottle. The boys also made a fun tornado art project. I loved how Greyson's turned out. The other two are still working on theirs.
100 Books: Henry Huggins
Can you believe that I have never read this story? The boys actually really liked this story. They have been say "golly" and "swell" quite a bit this week and it has made us all laugh. We had very mixed feelings on the ending of this book. We were happy, but also sad. Have you read this book? What did you think?
We decided we have had enough of the Unfortunate Events books for now. We started the 5th book and just couldn't get into it. It felt like a chore to read, so we thought we should take a break for a while or maybe forever. I am happy to just be focusing on our 100 books now.
Tea on Tuesday
We hit the jackpot this week with letters in the mail. We got four letters in the mail and two postcards. I love how mail has gotten my boys excited about poetry. Before we joined this group, I could not get the boys interested in poetry at all. The would complain and drag their feet, but now they cannot wait to see what has been sent to them. They also get excited about writing simple poems and sending them out to the families back in the States. This week, because it was Britton's birthday week, we sent out a Dr. Seuss birthday poem and our favorite chocolate cake recipe. Hopefully our recipients like it!
We were also very excited that some of our tea came from the Boston Tea Company, home of the Boston Tea party.
What we are learning this week:
Greyson is still plugging away at his 4th grade Horizons Math and really doing a great job. He is very excited that he is finally "getting" long division!
The boys have been learning about the Celts this week and we read some Celtic fairy tales. We also watched Modern Marvels on Netflix, ep. 11 about the Barbarians. This fit in perfectly with our lesson.
I also had the boys start a Minecraft writing page and they were so excited. I think that was the first time they actually jumped at doing some writing. I need to do more writings like this to get them more interested in it.
Here is a cute picture of Britton asleep in the taxi after our Co-op this week. Anything look strange to you in this picture?
Britton's 5th Birthday!
How is my baby already 5 years old? It just doesn't seem possible and I told him he has to stay 5 forever now! So, we make a huge deal of birthdays in our house. Britton started out his birthday with cake batter pancakes. They were a huge hit and have already been requested by the other boys for their birthdays.
We headed to the mall to go ice skating with some friends.
Then had lunch at his favorite place, Carl's Jr. We also stopped to get some ice cream for dessert.
Britton had some birthday money to spend, so he went and chose a couple gifts.
Once we got home, Britton had a couple friends over for more ice cream and an awesome dance party!
Then it was present time.
And we finished his night off with a birthday brownie. He doesn't really like cake. Crazy, I know!
Britton was supposed to have a friend birthday party on Saturday, but Lincoln woke up early in the morning and was sick, so we had to cancel. He handled it without any complaints and was pretty happy that all of his friend will be able to come to his re-scheduled party. He is a glass-half full kid for sure.
Now, to prepare for next week. It is that time of year that I am starting to get a little burnt out with teaching. Time to push through. In a few weeks we will be at the beach for a much needed holiday! Have a great week!
Linking up with:
Homeschool Mother's Journal
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