Field Trip: Adventure Science Center

Last week, we took what is hopefully out last field trip for 1st grade.  (I had 10 spare days to fill from our curriculum).  We headed out with some other homeschool buddies to the Adventure Science Center.  I went here when I was a child, although I think it was called something different at that time.  I just remember it was a fun trip!

 

The main reason I wanted to go was to see the Magic School Bus exhibit.  It was pretty neat.  It was all about WEATHER.

 

 

Claire and her buddy McCall.

 

We learned a little bit about sound and light in the adventure tower. 

 

 

Then we headed up to BodyQuest where the kids played brain storm-they controlled the ball by controlling their thoughts.

There was a giant heart ...

 

And a water table that showed how blood flows through our veins, arteries, etc.

 

They even spent a little time in the OR.

 

They answered some gross intestinal questions.

 

And they brushed a giant tooth!

 

More fun on the Adventure Tower ... climbing up the vertebrae ladder.

 

The space exhibit was AWESOME!  I loved the giant solar system.

 

Some of the "little planets".  Little compared to Jupiter and Saturn!  The girls really wanted to do the moonwalker (which gives you the feeling of walking on the moon) but you had to weigh at least 50 pounds and our girls clocked in at 41 and 44.  Too bad we couldn't put them in a harness together to meet the weight minimum!

 

In The Magic School Bus exhibit, we learned all about weather.  The air blasters were a big hit!

 

This was Tim's Hot Backyard.

 

Claire was calling in to check the local weather.

 

The girls were dying to get in the "Wild Winds" booth, so Leigh and I scrounged up $2 to play.  The winds got up to 90+ mph.

 

There was hair everywhere!  But they had fun!

Best. Day. Ever

That is what Claire said to Will when he came home from work on Monday. 

 

Claire got to visit a 1st grade class at a private school we hope she will be attending next year.  They made her fell so special and everyone was so excited for her to be there. 

 

The school sent this fun little photo page home with her.

 

 

She really is a little sad that she can't return there for the rest of the school year.  God made it VERY CLEAR that we made the right decision to send her to school next year instead of homeschooling another year.  Claire told me that she "forgot all about me" while she was at school today.  Gee, thanks!  But, I am glad she had fun and felt welcome.  She is super-pumped to start school in the fall!

 

{Photo editing note: I had to delete the teachers name and cover all the school insignias on the private school uniforms.  In case you were wondering what all those dark sploches were on their shirts.}

New Year ... New Routine

I hopes to get a little more caught up on blogging in December but that just didn't happen.  I may try to go back and catch up a few things, but I'm trying not to get bogged down in "catching up" and just moving forward instead. 

This new year brings some MAJOR changes for our family because today, I am officially going back to work.  I will still be working from home until Claire finishes up her first grade school year, but I will be working 30-35 hours/week as opposed to the 5-8 hours per week I have been working for the last 2 years.  David will be moving from a 2 day to a 5 day program at his same preschool and Luke will start a private preschool program (all day) for 3 days per week and finish up the school year the other 2 days in the program his is in now (where David is too). 

I am excited to be going back to work more.  Not because I necessarily love my job or it fulfills me on anything like that.  But because being at home full-time is WEARING ME OUT!  I feel like I am always yelling at my kids and constantly depressed and in a bad mood because 3 kids full-time (plus homeschooling and trying to work a little) is EXHAUSTING.  And hello ... have you met my VERY ACTIVE 2 year old?  He needs much more attention than I can give him with my older 2 kids here.  I think he will thrive being in a program all day with kids his own age.

I will certainly miss having my boys around all day everyday, but hopefully these changes will make it easier for me to focus on work (during my work hours) and easier for Claire to focus on school during her school hours.  Little brothers are very distracting!  I honestly don't know some families homeschool multiple children!  Their kids must be more independent and disciplined than mine!

All this to say ... if the blog seems a little neglected over the next couple of months, its just me getting settled into our new normal.

PreK: Letter D

Welcome to Letter D week.  This week was all about DINOSAURS!

 

{David is 4.5 years}

 

David working a Dinosaur puzzle.  (He is in our bathroom because he needed a hard floor but wanted to stay upstairs with me!)

 

 

Digging for dinosaurs.

 

Working on sight words: I, can, me, you.

 

 

Patterning.

 

Number puzzle (1-20).

 

Number maze (1-30).

 

A better photo of the number maze.  He loves these things!

 

Shape matching.

 

We did almost every single activity in the Magic School Bus Dinosaur kit.

 

We made different kinds of fossils.  Cast, mold and trace.

 

Getting ready to make the cast fossil.  Step 1: gather supplies.

 

 

Step 2: make imprint of dinosaur in gravel.

 

Step 3: mix plaster of paris.  Claire was our stirrer!

 

Step 4: pour plaster into dinosaur imprint and dry overnight.

 

Making the trace fossil.  Step 1: mix plaster of paris.

 

Step 2: make dinosaur footprints.

 

Step 3: remove dinosaurs and dry overnight.

 

We made a dinosaur skeleton.

 

And Daddy did a dinosaur "roar" for us.

 

Our finished fossils.

 

Handwriting: Number 4 and Letter D.

 

Our bible verse: "Do all things without complaining or disputing.  Philippians 2:14.

 

Beginning math and missing number sheets.

 

Math fun: learning size words.

 

Blend ladder and word families.

 

Vowel sounds and Letter D search.

 

Dinosaur activities from LOTW curriculum.

 

Art class: drawing different kinds of lines.

 

Dinosaur coloring.

 

And 3D dinosaur paintings.

 

 

Animal riddles.

 

Paper plate dinosaur.

 

 

Letter building.

 

Our lowercase d dinosaur and uppercase D dog.

 

 

Books we read:

Dinosaur Starts School by Pamela Duncan Edwards

The Super-Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell

Dinosaur Dig by Penny Dale

The Ugly Duckling Dinosaur by Cheryl Bardoe

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague 

This post is linked up to these great blogs ... check them out for more great learning ideas!