We are getting ready to take an end-of-summer trip next week.  We get to visit the boys' big brothers and sister in Oregon!  It means we have lots to do, as we prepare to be gone for a bit and leave the animals to be cared for by a friend.  We did manage to get our schoolwork done this week though . . . here's a bit of the fun and learning that went on this week:

We read lots of great books this week, in addition to our progress through Farmer Boy.  One book Caleb loved was called You Read To Me, I'll Read To You.  It has silly rhymes that two characters from popular fairy tales say as they converse back and forth.  The idea is that two people each read a part, so Caleb and I read them together.  He really enjoyed them and wanted to make up his own similar story (of two characters talking back and forth).

Smiley practiced writing the letters he knows, and also learned the letter G.  We played some fun games that give him practice identifying letters.  One game he really liked was "fishing" for letters.  Using a homemade magnetic fishing pole, he picked up "fishies" (letters) and had to name them and then put them in order.  Caleb did a similar game, picking up numbers and having to add them together.

Caleb learned multiple-digit addition this week.  He caught on quickly and by the end of the week was adding numbers in his head.

We are continuing to learn about legends and how different cultures pass down stories from generation to generation.  This week the boys heard legends from Ireland.  We also read a terrific book called A Port Through Time.  It is filled with amazingly detailed pictures of the same port and how it has changed over thousands of years.  The boys loved finding the pages that showed the period that the Irish legends were from, and also the page that would be during the life of Robin Hood (the household's current favorite hero).

Caleb practiced writing with consonant blends and worked in his handwriting book.

We are studying cycles in nature.  Caleb made a chart that he is going to use to record the changes of the big tree in our front pasture.  Smiley drew the big tree as it looks now at the end of summer, full of green leaves but surrounded in browned grass.

When the kids spent a day at Greenwood Institute d'Art this week, they visited a woodworkers studio and got to see  furniture and other beautiful pieces of art that were made from wood.  The artist was making small looms out of wood.  The boys learned how to weave on the looms, both bringing home beautiful samples of their art.

We also played games like memory and cards, the kids constructed letters out of dough that we baked into bread sticks, they flew kites, swam at the river on the hottest days, read poems, drew pictures (the bottom two show some of Smiley's pictures and designs), and lots more!

Still summer in Eastern Washington . . . we had a peaceful Labor Day weekend & school week.  Over the weekend we went geocaching for the first time since last year.  The boys love hunting and discovering treasures!  On Labor Day, we had a BBQ with all my co-workers and their families at my boss' house.  All the kids played together and ran throughout the orchards and gardens, having a blast.  The boys spent one day in Chewelah at Gina's studio and attended a kids' cooking class with their good friends Lexi and Lilly.  Here's a bit more of the fun and learning that went on this week:


In addition to practicing the letters he has learned so far, Smiley learned the letter F and drew a fish picture.  We read The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher from Beatrix Potter

Caleb finished the story he's been working on.  He needed to tell a story from his own life, and it had to be a linear story, not just random things about himself.  The cover of his book (first picture) shows our house at the top of Skeels Road, and the story tells how he came to live there.

 Smiley learned the number 4.  I drew pictures of the four seasons while we counted and talked about things that come in 4's.  For his book, Smiley wanted to draw the 4 elements.  One big swirl is air, red and orange are flames for fire, the green ball is earth, , and the blue is water and raindrops.  He definitely understands the concept of "4"!

Caleb learned how to round numbers to the nearest 10.  In preparation for adding multiple digit numbers, he used rounding to estimate addition problems and also learned how to add "magic squares" like in problem 5 in the second picture.

A lot of our reading is about nature-related stories and studying animals seems to overlap in much of what we do.  We played a board game which matches different animals with their proper habitat.  We also played a version in which we take turns explaining how each animal helps other animals or contributes to their environment.

We finished reading The Tale of Jolly Robin.  Caleb wrote down a poem we made up about the way Jolly Robin and other birds were always observing things (and often coming up with silly conclusions).

 

The boys also strung macaroni beads while making and identifying patterns, used a grain grinder and shook cream into butter at the cooking class, did drawing and coloring, exercised on the slides and trampolines at Greenwood, put together puzzles, used maps and the GPS to locate geocaches, read and sang together, and lots more!

We had a lovely week; the weather has cooled and was just about perfect.  The kids had some extra days at home with Dad while our friend Gina, who teaches kids' art & movement in Chewelah, was on vacation.  The kids got to help Dad load hay, feed animals, and they used the pressure washer and the weed eater.  Quite entertaining for little boys!  Here's a bit more of the fun and learning that went on this week:

Since we are still reading The Tale of Jolly Robin, Caleb writes and illustrates a few pages each week about the chapters we read.  He practiced the consonant blend BR.

Smiley practiced his numbers, and made a page in his book for the number 3.  He drew a triangle, which has 3 sides.

We read more legends from Africa this week, full of tigers and other savannah animals.  Besides being entertaining stories, they also taught about the importance of sharing and other good virtues.  Caleb also is working on writing a true story from his own life, similar to the ancient legends we are reading which get passed down from generation to generation.  

Smiley learned the letter E.  He drew the bunnies in the story The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter.  He made an E on the bunny's ear.  It might not come across good in the picture, but truly, this is an "E" page.

Caleb learned how to write inequalities, or how to find which number is greater than or less than.  (On some of the symbols he drew the alligator teeth; the mouth always wants to eat the biggest number, you know.)

The kids made pine cone bird feeders while we talked about wild animals finding food.  A lot of the stories we read this week lead to discussion about what animals eat, so this was a fun progression of our animal stories.

The boys also helped in the garden (think watering vegetables, cutting flowers, planting berry bushes), did more beeswax sculpting, took nature hikes in the perfect end-of-summer weather, made designs with a new set of tri-ominos (like dominoes, but triangle shaped), rode bikes, and lots more!