Favorite books read in December

Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss
Frogs Jump by Alan Brooks
The Last Christmas Present by Matt Novak
A Letter to Santa Claus by Rose Impey
Uncle Vova's Tree by Patricia Polacco
The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Commercials
The Sneeches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss
Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Inga Moore
Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd
The Backyardigans' Mission to Mars
The Night Before Christmas
Merry Christmas, Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola
Three Kings by Kurt Baumann
Calvin's Christmas Wish by Calvin Miles
The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen
Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer
The Cajun Night Before Christmas by James Rice

Thursday December 22

Did some science experiments with magnets- used a compass to find the north and south sides of the magnets and found out which attract and repel each other, pushed a toy car with the magnets, found the magnet's weak spots, and did two more repelling and attracting experiments

Wednesday December 21

Worked in the garden weeding and planting our bean sprouts
Read The Heroine of the Titanic by Joan W. Blos and Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen

Tuesday December 20

FIAR with Wee Gillis- discussed Scottish kilts and other dress, making decisions and controlling your emotions, the value of staying calm when those around you are upset, the calendar and when the New Year starts, fog and mist in weather patterns, and followed up with a study of the Winter Solstice and videos of solstice customs on YouTube
Read Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog, Six Sick Sheep and other Tongue Twisters by Joanna Cole, The Berenstain Bears' New Pup, Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh, Mr. Brown Can Moo by Dr. Seuss, and the Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems

Monday December 19

Started FIAR with Wee Gillis- discussed Scotland, kilts, topography of the country, our ancestors from Scotland, drawing in monochrome, cross hatching, and comparing and contrasting pictures that look almost the same, then followed up with some bagpipe music on YouTube
read Old MacDonald in the city and the Witch Casts a Spell by Suzanne Williams, Ace Lacewing's Bad Bugs Are My Business by David Bierdrzycki, Harry and the Dinosaurs Go To School by Ian Whybrow, The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat by Lynne Berry, and Slobby Dog and Flabby Cat by Jeanne Willis
Started the unit on sprouting seeds

Saturday December 17

Made ornaments for the animals at ONP
Found a water snake at the base of our Christmas tree

Thursday December 8

Miles' Christmas concert

Saturday December 3

Went to the Winter Garden Christmas parade
Found this bird in our backyard (heron?)

Wednesday November 30

Elle worked in her HWT Printing book
Learned about ophthamologic equipment

Favorite Books read in November

The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald- a folk tale from Puerto Rico
Bun Bun Button and Emma Kate by Patricia Polacco
No! By David McPhail
A Jewish Holiday ABC by Malka Drucker
The Twelve Days of Springtime by Deborah Lee Rose
Froggy Goes to Camp by Jonathan London
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber
Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor
Martha Calling by Susan Meddaugh
Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm by Herman Parish
Birds of All Kinds field guide
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Cinderella's Rat by Susan Meddaugh
Spider Man 2 Everyday Hero by Acton Figueroa
Greg's Microscope by Millicent Selsam
Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House by Doug Cushman
Ziggy's Blue Ribbon Day by Claudia Mills
The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone and the Baby Chipmunk by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Friday November 25

Went to Blue Springs to see the manatees and visited the Thursby House (1850s farm house)
Saw vultures and reviewed the three types

Saturday November 19

Kids delivered Thanksgiving baskets for our church
Art Fest
Found a black snake in front of our house

Sunday November 13

Kids helped out with the yard sale and made a planet of the sun- Sun

Friday November 11

Found a tiger caterpillar in our garden eating the dill!  And a bonus one

Thursday November 10

Kids watched Donald's Fire Safety hits and reviewed fire safety, what to do in a fire drill, what to do when there is smoke in the house or there is a fire on the other side of the door, and how to stop drop & roll

Sunday November 6

Visited the Winter Garden heritage museum- Elle got to see a typewriter in action and we discovered relics of the orange business

Saturday November 5

Kids watched the DVD for La Clase Divertida, lesson two
Maitland Greek Fest- ate greek food, listened to greek music, drank greek lemonade, had a great time!

Thursday October 27

Kids harvested the green beans from the garden
Elle finished Explode the Code book 3 (lessons 12 and 13)
Mickey's Halloween Party

Tuesday October 25

Elle started piano lessons
We found a sweat bee and read about them in the North American field guide to insects

Friday October 21

Field trip to ONP to learn about mammals

Thursday October 20

Field Trip to Green Meadows Farm

Tuesday October 18

Elle did Lesson 11 in Explode the Code book 3
Justin made a straw tower

October 14-16

LLL conference in St. Pete
Visited the Clearwater Aquarium to see Winter (the dolphin with the prosthetic fin) and Great Expectations Children's Museum
First drum circle

Wednesday October 12

Elle finished Lesson 9 and did Lesson 10 in Explode the Code book 3, made us a snack and wrote an email to her grandfather
Justin made pumpkin coins

Sunday October 9

Did lesson one in the workbook for La Clase Divertida and watched the DVD for lesson two

Saturday October 8

Elle practiced her spelling words and made us a snack
Read Dr. Seuss' My Many Colored Days and Hooray for Diffendoofer Day and Kermit the Hermit by Bill Peet

Friday October 7

Justin made a frame with popsicle sticks
We researched millipedes in the Florida field guide and North American field guide to insects and spiders
Read Arthur's Lost and Found, D.W. Rides Again, and Arthur and the New Baby by Marc Brown, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day and Daisy Head Mayzie by Dr. Seuss
Did the DK sentence puzzles

We  still don't know what this worm is!

Saturday October 1

Read the Backyardigans Mission to Mars and Patricia Polacco's Meteor and learned about meteorites
Read Bravo! Amelia Bedelia, Kermit the Hermit by Bill Peet, and D.W. Rides Again by Marc Brown
Elle read the Berenstain Bears Ride the Thunderbolt and the Bears' Picnic

Wednesday September 28

Elle corrected her work in the computation workbook and worked on subtraction and wrote a card for her aunt

Saturday September 24

Visited the Science Center to see the new insect exhibit