Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

This morning we focused on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We read ....If You Lived At The Time Of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine. The kids were amazed to see the differences of life then vs. now. They cheered the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They were afraid for the Freedom Riders. They had difficulty believing that the police would let their dogs attack a peaceful protester. They agree with Dr. Martin Luther King's message of non-violence.

Towards the end of the discussion they asked if we lived then would we think that we were better than black people. A thought provoking question. I told B that I really did not know. I would like to believe that we would see segregation for what it was and would have fought against it but there is really no way to know.

We are looking forward to watching history tomorrow as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President.

Week in Review

It was a fun week with freezing cold temperatures and the husband and I disagreeing where the thermostat should be set. But that is another story.

This week M worked on Library Skills-the different sections of the library-fiction, non-fiction, reference and what types of books are located in these sections. She also started working on identifying what those letters and numbers are on the little tag on the spine. Math-she has mastered the 1 and 2 times table and is now working on the 10s. B worked on the importance of accuracy when writing a how-to article and the use of transition words to make your writing more interesting. Math-he continues with mastering long division.

For Science we attempted to dye white carnations with food coloring. It has not been working out so well. They are still mostly white with a few spots of color. I am guessing we need to add more food coloring so the experiment will continue over the week-end.

Cooking class was this past Thursday. They made lasagna. I learned how to prepare a lasagna my daughter will actually eat.

Here are some pics from class.

They were anxiously awaiting for class to start. They really wanted to make lasagna.

While waiting for the rest of the class they got to mix up some multi-grain bread. Here they are shaping the loaves.

Adding cheese and broccoli to the lasagna

Nothing says fun like spreading the sauce with your fingers!

The finished product. So yummy.

Then we got to finish off the meal with chocolate chip cookies.

Passing Days

This week has been going along at a nice clip. Yesterday I had a Doctor's appointment so the kids learned a little bit about endocrinologists and the thyroid. Afterwards, swimming and gym class. In gym they played a type of hockey game with tennis balls. I could not follow it at all (maybe because I was chatting with the other mothers) but the kids were loving it. Lots of running around, hitting balls, scoring goals. A very fast moving game.

Today we started early so we could all get hair cuts. We covered the basics. Math-M is working on the 2 times table. Today M worked on cursive writing and reading comprehension. For History she studied a bit about mummies. B-continues working on double digit long division (thousands), multiplication, and fact review. Language Arts-fact review. History-Map work of ancient Egypt. Upper and Lower, The Nile, The Delta, and various cities. A long with a brief summery of one of the Pharaohs.

M and I headed off to the salon and B went to the barber shop with dad. We all look fabulous, if I do say so myself.

Cooking Class 01/08/09

Cooking Class resumed now that the Holidays are over. The kids were excited to get back to cooking new things. For this class they made chicken legs, mashed potatoes and buttermilk biscuits. Everything was delicious.

Here they are before class modeling their aprons.

Here is a short clip of the chicken legs being seasoned. Yummy.

Cutting the potatoes for boiling. They love using their knives.

Watching the mixer cut the butter into the flour. Have you ever seen anything this spectacular?

Mixing in the buttermilk. Nothing says fun like hands full of dough.

Rolling out the dough.

Biscuits in the pan to go in the oven.

Mashing the potatoes. Butter makes everything better.

After class I asked them if they would be this enthused to help at home. The answer: No. We don't have a butcher block work station in our kitchen or a giant cast iron pan or 4 ovens.

They do help at home and they do make their own breakfast and lunch. There is something about prepping your food in a real restaurant kitchen with a professional chef that makes it so much better.

Laptop in Class

Today was a bit of challenge in the focus area. We had a house guest who was departing today and lets face it, that is way more exciting than focusing on lessons. They got through math without any issues but then our guest woke up.

I got them back on track for a bit by having them bring their laptops into the classroom. We went to kidshealth.org to start learning about the brain. We learned a bit about the cerebrum (85% of the brains weight and it controls voluntary muscles and reasoning-such as the ability to figure out those pesky math problems). The cerebellum (let's thank this small section for our ability to stand without falling down). The brain stem (a big thank you to the stem for controlling involuntary muscles such as the heart pumping and breathing)

Here is a pic of them engrossed in the brain.

Back to Work

Today was our first day getting back into the school groove.

M got right into things. She completed her math, language arts, and science with no complaints, dawdling, or whining. She is doing well mastering the 0 and 1 times tables and finding the area of a rectangle. M is also moving along nicely with the proper use of pronouns. Today in science she was thrilled to learn that roots on plants not only provide nutrients to the plant from the soil but also prevent soil erosion.

B was a bit slower to start. He wishes we were still on break. But once he started he did well. He is still working with long division and doing well. Language Arts-prepositions and the object of prepositions. I must admit-I dislike this as much as he does but he needs to know what makes a sentence. In science he wrote up his conclusion from his experiment with leaves and light and water and the absence of light and water. He also reviewed terminology such as chlorophyll and conifer.

Later today we will be off to the Y for swim lessons and gym class.

Happy 2009

These are our last couple of days of vacation and we are making the most of them by relaxing after a round of Holiday Parties at our home, family, and friends. The kids are enjoying their new laptops and I can not wait until we start school next week and use them in our classroom. It will be such a joy to have everyone viewing the same material from their own monitor without the fighting over who has the better seat/view. I think the kids are ready to get back to work after our break. The lack of routine over the past 2 weeks is really showing in their behavior now that the Holidays are over.