Magic and Mayhem

Three random ways the kids learned in each subject the past few days….

Math

• Jack was answering addition and subtraction questions for goldfish crackers in Guy and Val’s hotel room this morning.
• Victoria did some math pages to earn extra computer time.
• The kids’ computer is hooked up to the net now in the living room and Anna instant messaged me this morning to chat.  In between chatting I kept throwing out math problems like what’s 23 + 85?  I figured if we were going to be silly enough to chat from one floor away I ought to make it count for something. 

Reading

• Victoria has been reading a newspaper-style book about Ancient Egypt, a Dilbert cartoon book and our new book about the American Revolution.
• Anna has been reading a fantasy chapter book.
• Jack and I have been reading beginning reader books together.  I’ve also been reading to him lots.  Current favorites — The Napping House, Knuffle Bunny, Goodnight Gorilla and Kiss the Cow.

Science & Nature

• Victoria has started an experiment.  We have 3 bird feeders by the front of our house and a lot of birds visit.  They fly off when we get too close.  Victoria moved a bench nearby.  She brought a notebook, pen and something to read, along with a timer.  She sat there and recorded how long it took for the first bird and the third bird to come to the feeder with her so close.  She’s going to sit out there at least once a day and see if it takes less and less time for them to feel safe and come to the feeder.
•  The kids have spotted and identified various birds, butterflies and turtles with Daddy.
• Victoria asked how they made the 3D pictures in her “Eye Illusions” book so Daddy helped google it.  She found out that they convert pictures to gray scale and then… okay, she knows and she explained it but I didn’t necessarily learn it! 

Social Studies

• Victoria has been reading a cartoon-style book about ancient man, and another about Egypt.
• Jack got a book from the library about the world and what it’s like in various countries.
•  We got our pocket guides to The Declaration of Independence and the constitution, and I gave each child a copy with his/her name on it.  We’re going to go through them and come up with some activities to learn about them later today.

Spelling/Writing

•  The girls have been using Instant Messenger and e-mail.
• Anna wrote a poem about Daddy.
• Guy played a tic-tac-toe style game with the girls that involves rows of categories and letters.  You randomly assign 3 letters one way and 3 categories the other way, and take turns trying to fill in the squares.  For instance, to fill a square the girls had to think of a song that started with L and an animal that started with Q and write those in the boxes.

PE

• Swimming
• Bike rides
• Playing soccer

Arts

• Anna put on a TV show called “Home Designer” for me on the dry erase wall in the basement playroom.  She would write the screen out while hosting, then erase it and draw out the next screen.  She put up a problem room and discussed how the designers were going to improve it, and then developed a key for colors so she could demonstrate the proposed color schemes (a leaf symbol for green, a water drop for blue…).  She did a really good job!
•  The kids colored in coloring books with Val.  Victoria colored a page about Joan of Arc, Val about Greek gods and goddesses, Jack about ocean life and Anna about mermaids.
• The girls had play practice.

Magical Moments

• Anna & Victoria got to spend the night with Guy and Val at their motel room.  In the morning, G&V took them swimming.  I had sent along goldfish crackers for a snack and they had the girls play dolphins with a big inflated ball and rewarded them with fish.  They had to do things like pass the ball back and forth using their heads and swim under the ball.  The girls had a blast and were doing clicking noises and the works.  Very silly but very fun!
•  All the kids loved riding on Guy’s shoulders.
• Daryl found a song for Victoria called “Victoria” (by The Kinks) since we spent so much time recently listening to the song “Rhiannon” that Anna is named after.  Next he’s looking for one called “Jack.”