Day #175/175 Days

We had a lot of fun on our last day of school for the 2010-2011 school year.

The morning was spent at our County Extension Office. The younger kids in our 4H group participated in a Fun Food class where they learned about how to make healthy choices and learned a lot about eating fruits and veggies. They also created some fun crafts, played some games outside, and made a yummy snack to eat.

Coloring while we waited for class to start.

Sorting board for veggies by color.

The goal was to grab a "dragon tail." The person who lost their tail

had to do five jumping jacks before they could keep playing.

Hula-hooping!

After a quick picnic lunch on the lawn outside the office, we headed in to town to play mini-golf! Earlier this year our group participated in a fundraiser and we used those funds to buy tickets for all the kids to play. Including younger siblings we had 18 kids! I took more shots than the two I'm sharing, but since there are other kids in them I can't share them here on the blog. 

While I'm calling the 2010-2011 school year DONE, we will be starting our "summer session" here very shortly. That will consist mostly of just basics (reading, writing, and math). We'll also have some fun things like swim lessons and field trips to add as well. I'll be spending the next couple of weeks figuring out what we'll be using for next year and our schedule. It should be fun!

Day #174/175 Days

Last day of book work for the 2010-2011 school year!

Lego-Man

• Fix math errors on final test (originally had a 68 on the test - brought it up to a 90)
• Finished Lesson 72 in handwriting
• Complete Easy Writing pages 27 & 28 and review previous writing page - note errors
• Complete 16A & 16B in Wordly Wise
• Play Grammar Blast
• Complete pg. 47 in Spelling book
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill

Conductor

• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill
• Complete 16A & 16B in Wordly Wise
• Play Grammar Blast
• Write each spelling word once and complete pg. 59
• Complete Easy Writing pages 27 & 28 and fix errors on previous writing 
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 56-59 of Christian Liberty Nature Reader and draw a picture of what you read

Happy

• Complete 20D in MUS
• Practice piano
• Handwriting pg. 65
• Complete pgs. 74-78 in Geography book
• Create 4H Fair Cards for sunflower poster                             

Day #173/175 Days - Maine 4H Days

We did three sessions each today. We skipped the first one since the older boys had been put in a session for something we've already done (ATV safety and it ended up getting rained out anyway) and Happy didn't have a first session. We chose to leave a bit later instead which worked great.

Lego-Man

• Session #1 - GPS Treasure Hunt - It was pouring rain poor kid. He was a bit drenched. About mid-way through I ran and got an emergency poncho I had in the truck for him which helped a bit.
• Session #2 - Exploring Lego Robotics - way fun!
• Session #3 - Starting a Business that Pops! - This was put on by the same folks at the UMaine Innovations Engineering that we visited in April. The kids came up with a new popcorn flavor, created it, and worked on how they would market it.

 

Conductor

• Session #1 - Fly Fishing and Fly Rods - A great hands-on workshop where the kids could practice casting and be introduced to fly fishing.
• Session #2 - GPS Treasure Hunt - He loved this! This was the same set-up for Lego-Man in the morning. There were cards hidden all over the fairgrounds and they used a GPS to find them. 
• Session #3 - Exploring Lego Robotics. Conductor was over the moon about this session! Unfortunately, we couldn't stay for him to manage to finish the maze, but he was given a great introduction to the program.

Happy

• Session #1 - Be a Beetle Buster - This was the same session Conductor did yesterday. It was about introducing the kids to some invasive insects that have managed to find their way to the US and New England. They were taught how to find them and what to do once they do find them (mark the area and tell a forest ranger). 
• Session #2 - Exploring Science Through Bubbles. This was Happy's favorite session. His best quote of the whole weekend was said at this session...."I'm making science!"  The kids were given all kinds of every day objects to use in the homemade bubble solution. 
• Session #3 - Theater for Cloverbuds. This was the only disappointing session for me. We actually left early in order to go check out the Lego Robotics one with Conductor. This session turned out to be just a "play" session with arts and crafts and dress-up clothes. The only great thing was that the kids could pick a costume and/or create one and keep it. Our local 4H group is putting on a play this fall and we were able to pick up part of Happy's costume.

Happy's "Asian Longhorned Beetle"

Making bubbles using cut-up straws and yarn

Making science! 

Using a "bubble cup" 

We opted not to go back on Sunday for activities. This was a great time though and we'll definitely be signing up next year!

Day #172/175 Days - Maine 4H Days

I'm always blown away by all the fantastic opportunities the boys have since we've joined 4H. This year we attended our first Maine 4H Days. This consisted of 2-1/2 days at a local fairground (well, "local" is sometimes used loosely as it took us 1-1/2 hours to drive there) where various workshops were held for the children. The cost was amazing as well - only $5 per child with a $15/family max - for all 2-1/2 days - no matter what they chose to do.

Unfortunately, I decided a bit too late to actually sign the boys up so we missed out on a few things they wanted to try. The other difficulty - for my picture taking ability at least - was that each boy was in a different track. Given Happy's age (only 7) and that he is a "Cloverbud" in 4H terms and needs adult supervision, most of the photos feature him. I was able to catch a few of the older boys and check on them at their various workshops though.

Today was Day #1 and Happy started his day at a workshop called "Wild and Wonderful." The kids learned about various animals and how they  moved and then got to try it out. They all had a fantastic time.

Lego-Man spent his entire first day in a workshop called "Tech Wizards." This was a movie-making class. He and the other kids in this workshop spent the day creating their own mini-film and then editing it. They had to think up the concept, act it out, film it, and create a final product. They had a fantastic time!

Conductor spent his first session in a workshop called "Everyone Lives Downstream." I dropped him off and since a friend and her children were with us at the first session with Happy, I was able to go check on him. He was having a fantastic time and even told me so!

They were playing a game.

The second session had Happy at the "My Dirt is Alive" workshop. This covered composting and all the things that go with dirt. 

Taking dirt samples

What I loved about each session was how hands on fun was interspersed with learning. Cloverbuds in 4H range in age from 5-8 years old so sitting and listening to someone talk can be hard. However, when they are moving and touching and seeing it all themselves, the learning stays.

Happy sharing with one of the instructors his "mud painting."

The "My Dirt is Alive" session had a compost bin as part of it and each Cloverbud took home their own container of dirt in which they planted some seeds. (Happy planted cucumber seeds and they are already sprouted just a week later.)

Conductor spent his second session at the "Be a Beetle Buster" workshop. This was just across from where we were located so while I could see him I didn't get any photos. He thought this one was his favorite of all!

After lunch Happy did the "Everyone Lives Downstream" session. This was similar to the one Conductor had done in the morning. Happy loved all the games! I didn't spend a lot of time with him in this session so I only have a photo while they were playing a "name game" at the beginning.

I had taken my friend's daughter to the "Creativity Tent" where she made lots of sand art and other fun open-ended crafts. 

Conductor spent this session in the "What's in Your Storm Water?" session. 

Each session was 1-1/2 hours long which was sometimes a tad too long for the Cloverbuds. All of the sessions are taught by camp counselors in training for the Maine 4H Camp Tanglewood. Maine 4H Days are used for their training for summer camp. I didn't see one counselor who didn't do a great job with the kids. I know my boys loved it and had a great time. 

Initially we were not going to attend on Friday but only Saturday. I'm really glad we added in the extra day.

Day #171/175 Days

Lego-Man

• Complete Final Test pgs. 77-80 in MUS Test book
• Complete Lesson 71 in handwriting
• Complete Easy Writing pgs. 25 & 26
• Play Grammar Blast
• Complete pg. 46 in spelling book
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Handling Yours Ups and Downs
• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill

Conductor

• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill
• Complete 15D in Wordly Wise
• Play Grammar Blast
• Write each spelling word once and complete top of page 58 only
• Complete Lesson 44 in Handwriting
• Complete Easy Writing pgs. 25 & 26
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 52-56 in Christian Liberty Press Reader and draw a picture about what you read
• Read two chapters in A Kid's Guide to Managing Time

Happy

• Practice piano
• Complete Lesson 29 in Handwriting
• Complete 20C in MUS

Day #170/175 Days

Happy

• Practice piano
• Completed the Simple Schooling Farm Interactive Unit Study
• Played lots of games with Miss H

Conductor

• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill
• Fix errors on pgs. 120 & 121 in Wordly Wise and complete 15C & 15D
• Play Grammar Blast
• Write each spelling word once and complete pg. 57 in spelling book
• Complete Lesson 42 in handwriting
• Complete Easy Writing pages 23 & 24
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 49-52 in Christian Liberty Nature Reader
• Read 2 chapters in A Kid's Guide to Managing Time

Lego-Man

• Complete Test 30 & Unit Test IV in MUS Test book
• Complete Lesson 70 in handwriting
• Complete Easy Writing pages 23 & 24
• Complete 15C & 15D in Wordly Wise
• Play Grammar Blast
• Complete pg. 45 in Spelling Skills
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Handling Your Ups and Downs
• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill

Day #169/175 Days

Today was a fun unschooling day. We began with an early session of piano lessons. I've opted to continue as we can through the summer in order for the boys to stay current with their new skills. When we go to lessons our teacher blocks out two hours for us and we each have, on average, 30 minutes with her.

Today was a bit interesting though as I had H&H with me - otherwise known as Miss H and Mr. H. These are the two children I used to babysit full-time and now only baby sit on occasion. They did relatively well at piano. Actually, it was my boys who were a bit more out of hand than normal.

We arrived home at lunch and spent the afternoon playing outside and watching some fun kid videos we don't normally watch (Word World and Dora). They also played lots and lots of board games which is always fun with a 2-1/2 year old and an almost 4 year old added to the mix.

My oldest son listened to a lot of Adventures in Odyssey or read while hiding out in his room.

Day #168/175 Days

Lego-Man

• Complete 30F in MUS (last lesson in his book!)
• Complete Lesson 69 in Handwriting
• Fix 14C in Wordly Wise and complete 15A & 15B
• Play Grammar Blast online
• Complete pg. 44 in Spelling book
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind
• Create 10 "Judging Cards" for 4H (we will be entering two fairs and since each item needs a judging card, we are working on these now!)
• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill

Conductor

• Mad Dog math drill
• Math Galaxy math drill
• Fix errors on page 114 in Wordly Wise and complete 15A & 15B
• Play Grammar Blast
• Write each spelling word once, fix page 54, and complete page 55
• Complete handwriting Lesson 41
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 46-49 in Christian Liberty Nature Reader and draw a picture of what you read
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head

Life

• Today the two younger boys came with me while we went to buy our new guinea hens and chickens

• They also tagged along on a trip to the vet. Our seven year old female dog has developed urinary incontinence. We were able to put her on a med that should help.

Day #167/175 Days

Happy

• Complete 20B in MUS 
• Practice piano
• Complete Lesson 28 in handwriting
• Complete pgs. 36-45 in Geography

Happy and Tots

• Listened to The Glorious Flight
• Went over phonics flaschards A-Z
• Miss H worked on an ABC letter writing book

Lego-Man

• Complete 30E in MUS
• Complete Lesson 68
• Complete 14C & 14D in Wordly Wise
• Complete pg. 43 in Spelling and fix errors on pg. 42
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head
• Mad Dog Math Drill
• Math Galaxy

Conductor

• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy
• Fix all errors on pg. 112 and 113 in Wordly Wise and complete 14C & 14D
• Complete alphabetical order page and create Common Noun & Proper Noun poster
• Write each word once and complete top of pg. 54 in spelling
• Complete Lesson 40 in handwriting
• Work on Grammar Blast (he's actually been doing this for awhile on his own)
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 42-46 in CL Nature Reader #3 
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind

Tonight we all had our piano recital as well.

Day #166/175 Days

Lego-Man

• Complete 30D in MUS
• Complete Lesson 67 in Handwriting
• Complete 14A & 14B in Wordly Wise
• Complete pg. 42 in spelling
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind
• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy

Happy

• Watch Lesson 20 & complete 20A
• Practice piano
• Complete Lesson 27 in handwriting
• Complete pgs. 28-32 in Geography

Conductor

• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy
• Fix misspelled words on pg. 105, complete 14A & 14B in Wordly Wise
• Complete alphabetizing page and quiz on common and proper nouns
• Write each spelling word once and complete pg. 53
• Complete Lesson 39 in handwriting
• Practice the piano
• Read pgs. 39-41 in Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader #3
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head

Together

• Create "Daddy" cards and coloring pages for Father's Day
• Read our Compassion Child's letter outloud, point out where she lives, dictate letters to send
• Have lunch outside and enjoy the great day!

Day #165/175 Days - Community Service

I haven't been tracking all the things we do for Community Service, but I felt that this opportunity needed to count. A few years ago I was a part of our local MOPS Group (Mothers of Preschoolers) but I soon "graduated out." We then did a homeschool co-op for a bit, but that proved to be too much for us at the time. We are revisiting it for the future.

A call went out that they would be short workers for the last two MOPS meetings so the boys & I volunteered. Okay, so I volunteered the boys and we all headed in to help out. Conductor and Lego-Man helped with the MOPPETS (ages 2 to 6) and Happy & I hung out in the nursery.

The first week was pretty small. We had about five workers (not counting Happy) and only four babies. Needless to say that was a relatively easy week.

Today we had quite a few more as it was a "regular" MOPS week. (The previous week was a MOPS Bible study.) We had about 6-7 workers this week and a dozen babies. Overall it was great for Happy to be in there helping with me. I know he would have rather helped with the MOPPETS but too many of his friends come with younger siblings so I knew it wouldn't be a "helping" situation for him. It was in the nursery.

Lego-Man and Conductor arrived back sweaty and tired each week so I know they worked and played hard helping the little ones have a good time while their moms enjoyed some "kid-free/adult-only" chatting.

Day #164/175 Days

Conductor

• Mad Dog Math Drill
• Math Galaxy
• Fix errors on pgs. 114 & 115 in Wordly Wise and complete 13C
• Complete alphabetizing page, fix forming plural nouns page and complete pgs. 4 &5 about common & proper nouns
• Write each word 4 times on notebook paper - spelling
• Complete Lesson 38 in handwriting
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 34-39 in Christian Liberty Nature Reader #3
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head

Lego-Man

• Complete 30C in MUS
• Complete Lesson 66 in handwriting
• Complete 13C & 13D in Wordly Wise
• Fix errors on pg. 40 in Spelling book
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind
• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy

Happy

• Practice piano
• Complete Simple Schooling unit on Weather

Day #163/175 Days

Conductor

• Mad Dog Math Drill
• Math Galaxy
• Wordly Wise - complete 13A & 13B
• Phonics pages: complete alphabetizing page pg. 1, forming plural nouns page and pgs 1 & 2 of "What is a Noun?"
• Write each spelling word once and complete pg. 51
• Complete Handwriting Lesson 37
• Practice piano
• Read pgs. 31-34 in Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book #3
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind

Lego-Man

• Complete 30B in MUS
• Complete Lesson 65 in Handwriting
• Complete 13A & 13B in Wordly Wise
• Complete pg. 40 in spelling skills books
• Practice piano
• Read My Side of the Mountain for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head
• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy

Happy wasn't feeling well this day.

Day #162/175 Days

Conductor

• Math Drills
• Wordly Wise - finish review puzzle
• Phonics pages - pgs. 149 & 150
• Complete Lesson 36 in handwriting
• Practice piano
• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy 
• Read pgs. 28-31 in Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book #3
• Read 2 chapters in Making Up Your Own Mind

Lego-Man

• Watch Lesson 30 & complete 30A in MUS
• Complete Lesson 64 in Handwriting
• Complete pgs. 101-103 in Wordly Wise and write out message
• Fix pg. 38 & complete pg. 39 in Spelling Skills book
• Practice piano
• Read book of choice for 20 minutes
• Read 2 chapters in Using Your Head
• Mad Dog Math drill
• Math Galaxy

Happy and Tots*

• Lots of painting
• Fun worksheets
• Math (Happy)
• Handwriting (Happy)
• Geography (Happy)

*Up until this past year I used to babysit two children. I occasionally still have them and they show up in our homeschool routine when they are here. 

Mr. H coloring - kind of.

Miss H working on her "bug" worksheet.

In the afternoon we headed out to our 4H meeting. When Mr. & Miss H are with me, we typically keep to our regular schedule and just add them in. Today at our 4H meeting we watered and checked on our raised beds that are planted at the Extension Office.

Miss H helping to water.

We are also doing a drama/theater focus for our Education Exhibit and group project for the year. The kids are writing a play. It's basically an outline of what they want to do but most of the lines will be ad lib. Our teen leader is explaining the concept to them and telling them how it's all going to fall in to place. Our goal is to have this ready to perform at a few places this fall. 

We soon broke in to two groups - older kids (actual 4H age - 9 to 19) and younger kids (or Cloverbuds ages 5-8 with some extra younger siblings as well). The Cloverbuds had a story read to them (Jack's Garden) since we are also doing a "Kids Can Grow" project. 

Then they created a fun sunflower poster with the plan to enter them as a fair project. The idea and printables came from Lakeshore Learning. 

Mr. H showing off his sunflower coloring.

Happy working hard on his.

Day #161/175 Days - Field Trip

(taken from their website)

Recently we had a fantastic opportunity to ride on the Songo River Queen II. The Queen is a replica of a Mississippi River Boat - complete with paddle wheels! 

This is a really poor photo I snapped as we left the boat with lightening and thunder going on around us. Needless to say I snapped quickly & kept walking - fast!

Over 150 homeschoolers charted the boat for the day. We had a fantastic coordinator who not only put together this trip but also the one from last week when we went on the tour of Colonial Pemaquid and the Puffin Cruise. I've coordinated trips for up to 40 people before and that is a lot of work. I'm just in awe at what this woman was able to pull off. It was wonderful!

She needed to meet a certain price point to charter the boat for both the trips. There was a morning and afternoon cruise. Everything above & beyond that cost was donated to a local food bank. She was also able to bring snacks and drinks on board (instead of the ship selling them) and all those proceeds also went to the food bank. My kids were thrilled since I actually let them buy snacks on board.

Conductor hopping in front of Miss Tammy so I'd snap his photo. 

It was great to be on board with lots of friends!

So why were we so excited to take this trip? Well, we've reached the time of year when the weather is great and it's nice to be outside. Second, I didn't have to coordinate the trip in order to enjoy the opportunity. Lastly, this is the last season that the Songo River Queen II will be able to take the trip she did on this very day. 

The Queen passes through two swing bridges and a lock on her journey down Long Lake and the Songo River. At the end of this season the Maine Department of Transportation is replacing the swing causeway bridge with a fixed bridge that will not accommodate the height of the Queen. It really is a sad end to over 100 years of the Queen making this trip. You can read more about the Last Chance to experience this on their website. 

All three of the boys came with me and we met up with my sister and nephew as well as my friend Tammy & her family. We had a great time just sitting and chatting for the 2-1/2 hour ride. In retrospect, I wish I had thought to pack books, toys, and/or games for the kids to keep busy with. While historic, it was a touch boring for them at times. 

This also happened to be one of the hottest days of the summer thus far. It was almost 90 degrees today. While it wasn't horrible while we were moving, we did have a longer period of just sitting while going through the lock. I thought I was literally melting there for a bit!

So how did the cruise work?

First we passed from one end of Long Lake to the other through the causeway swing bridge. You can see the bridge open below. It is not a drawbridge. A gate does come down on either side and there is a stoplight there as well. I have been caught at that light before in the past while a boat was going through.

We eventually started down the Songo River. It was very twisty and turning. In fact, one of the last turns we needed to make was about 90 degrees. In fact, the captain asked everyone at the front of the ship on the top deck to please sit so he could see clearly past them. Here's the start of the turn.

We were headed for the green bridge just up ahead. This is another swing bridge, but it's smaller, there is less traffic, and it's manually turned by a hand crank.

Here it is swung out so we can pass.

The crank used to open it.

Once through this bridge we came to the lock. I mistakenly thought it was a series of locks that we needed to go through to continue the journey.  It was not. It was one lock and really we went through to show how they work. These are manual locks so one either side were one to two people doing this....

Then this pump was used to either raise or lower the water level in the lock to match the level on the other side. Again, manually done....

After we went through the lock we simply turned around and went back through and headed back to our starting point. The water on the other side of the lock was too shallow for us to continue down that river. 

Here is our view before heading back in to the lock.

Overall it was a neat field trip especially since after September the Queen will no longer be able to go through the lock due to the new bridge. It was a beautiful day so it made it that much more enjoyable to be on the boat. We all had a great time visiting with friends and just enjoying the day. 

This marks our 23rd field trip for the 2010-2011 school year.