We're loving early Spring here in the mountains!  We've been doing some really fun things for school, and when we take a break, we enjoy picnics, hikes, splashing in the creek, and hunting for buttercups (the very first spring wildflowers to show up on our hills.)  Here is what the boys have been working on:

Smiley is working on learning to read and write word endings, most recently ON, OT, ORE, OR, and OW.  He is also learning some of the most common sight-read words.  He practices building and reading words aloud, but listening to stories and poems read to him is still his favorite part of Language Arts!

Caleb is learning to recognize and use nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.  His writing has really improved and he is writing more complete sentences when he does his weekly journal writing, spelling sentences and more.  As usual, Caleb is reading a variety of books aloud and to himself.  We recently began reading from several different poetry books every day, from seasonal to classic ( like Robert Frost) to fun and silly (think Shel Silverstein) and we all really enjoy it.

Smiley is getting his single-digit subtraction facts down.  Math is one area where both boys are actually ahead of schedule for the school year, and will probably be finishing their math books before anything else.

Now that Caleb has learned the basic multiplication facts, he is applying them to multiple-digit multiplication.  He has also been working on rounding and inequalities.

We have had a lot of fun with our unit on Native Americans, reading nonfiction books and studying Indian artifacts and cultures, as well as reading Indian folk tales and poetry together.  Caleb has a map he is drawing and when we spend several days learning about a particular tribe, he writes down where in America the Indians lived.  Art projects have included totem pole drawings and tipi-models, but the most fun art project was on a field trip with the Riverwood class.  We visited a local woman who practices Native American healing and a variety of Indian art forms.  In addition to sharing her authentic instruments, decorations and animal skins with the kids, she taught them a legend about the Talking Feather.  Afterwards, the kids all created their own version of a Talking Feather, using feathers, leather and beads.  The Talking Feathers were traditionally used in many Indian ceremonies and the kids' feathers were very beautiful and special.

Through seed-sprouting projects indoors (we're trying to grow an avocado plant), hiking, journal writing, and reading, we've been studying plants and the seasonal changes from Winter to Spring.  On a particularly cold and snowy end-of-winter day, we got to take a field trip to the Children's Science Museum in Spokane.  It is a fairly new museum that was chock-full of hands-on exhibits that kept us all intrigued for hours.

As usual, the boys have had a variety of other activities to round out their homeschooling.  They enjoy their weekly Spanish class, where they learn songs and phrases and also complete pages in a fun workbook to reinforce what they learn orally.  Art includes drawing and sketching and a variety of fun projects at home.  Last week we decorated eggs using only homemade dyes from natural ingredients, like blueberries, beets, orange peels, and spices.  It was great fun and the results were really lovely and unique.  In addition, art class at Riverwood usually includes knitting or sewing, watercolor painting, wax modeling, and form drawing.  Their days at Riverwood also give them a chance to run around and play group games with their friends, everything from marbles to tag and tug-of-war.  Both boys have gotten really into jump roping, which is such an excellent way to exercise.  And now that the weather is getting nice, the bikes have come back out and there seem to be endless ways to stay active outside.  It must be Spring!