As always we are having a wonderful time being at home learning together. This was a very cold week here so we went to the YMCA about five times. The boys take swimming lessons and attend a Ykids gym time during a day time slot for home schoolers.
Computer games and things aren't something we've used too often. They come and go for a few days and then the boys move on to something new. Daddy uses tablets for work and we loaded a few games on them for the boys. They were so excited to try everything and are pretty good! Daddy also joined them with an online story.
The day after we finished clearing the leaves off the yard it snowed. Oh how excited those boys were to get outside. They made snow angels and TJ made a whole nativity scene with a choir of angels.
Later they scooped up snow to melt by the fire. Their Playmobile toys also joined in the action. MJ has been playing Christmas all week.
It snowed again. This time we got a fabulous day with packing snow! The boys were up and outside in their pj's first thing in the morning. They made snowmen and giant huge snowballs. It was so much fun and great exercise.
Later in the day the boys were having difficulty sharing some Lego motors, so I brought out two pneumatic Lego parts for the boys to explore. They were fascinated with the air moving the piston. Lots of interesting creations were made.
I bought the boys some goggles to help them in the pool (strong chlorine). They immediately wanted a bath to test them out. MJ wore his goggles for several days, building, baking, to the gym and more.
The boys are doing so well in the pool. MJ has become much more brave. He enjoys jumping in, and swimming on his back. TJ has been trying to swim under water and can even do summersaults!
We invited some friends over for dinner and the boys wanted to bake gingerbread cookies. We had a great time baking and decorating together.
I was so pleased when MJ went to the math shelves and picked out the pattern blocks. When I bought them I had put them in the shelf intending to print out cards to put with them. The boys weren't sure what they were so I showed them a few ideas on my laptop. They both worked well together to make a train by looking at the picture. Then they took turns making new things and taking photos of all their work. I quietly made an abstract design on the table. They boys were intrigued and made many wonderful designs over the next few days.
I had checked out a few art books from the library to see what they were like. We went to visit my mom's house with my sister and all the boys. The boys and I looked through the book together. TJ felt inspired by one of Monet's water lilly paintings. TJ quickly discovered that our watercolours wouldn't give the texture or colours he was looking for. My mom generously shared her collection of paints with TJ (he was very excited). Working with great focus and attention he created his version of the painting. I was pleased to be his assistant colour mixer.
MJ and Nanny made potato prints and painted with water colours. The boys cousin also joined us to use the water colours. He and his mom enjoyed making funny pictures and trying all sorts of colours.
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| TJ's version of Monet's Water Lilly Pond painting |
We've been running our fireplace all fall. The boys have been incredibly helpful and are learning many skills and safety things through this experience. We spent some time modelling with wax by the fire to warm it up. The boys each made a fish to show our little pet Spotty.
MJ also wrote his whole name. He usually just puts an M on the page. We were all very proud of him.
Having been inside most of the week. We took the opportunity at the end of the week to go for a walk in the forrest. The boys explored their favourite spots, followed animal tracks and played in the snow. It was lovely.
MJ has been interested in the human body for several months now. We spent a good potion of our week getting ready for a local homeschool Science Fair. MJ wanted to share some of the pictures he had made. We also traced his body and added in many organs. It was great fun. MJ continually check our books to make sure everything was in the right places. He did very well explaining his project to those who came by his table.
TJ's science fair project was about discovering the best angle of a ramp to race toy cars down. He raced three different toy cars down a ramp at various angles to see which one would travel the farthest. Having been a science teacher in the past I did my best not to take over but to let TJ learn about this experiment himself. He did most of the write up, including lots of typing. TJ also explained his project very well to the many people who came over to his table.
It was wonderful to see all the projects that the other children had put together. There was such a range of ages and topics. We are very blessed to have many different opportunities in our area.
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