Hen House

I didn't realize how far behind I was until I started going through all my pictures! Another spring break activity was to spend the day with our dear friends Kim, Grace, and Rachel. Kim's mom lives east of Columbus and has Amish friends who have farms. Last year, Kim hatched chicks and when we went to see them I committed right then to doing this with the kids this spring. So, for spring break Kim's mom was so sweet and had us over for lunch and then took us to a couple friend's farms.
The kids had a great time! We had tours and learned about the Amish which has opened up an entire reading topic with the girls. They are fascinated by the Amish way of life.
The second farm we went to has the hens and rooster that Kim hatched. The rooster was her first egg to hatch and is named for Jonah. JoJo the rooster was strutting around the hen house when we went in to visit. We were given the job to let the hens out for the day and what a hilarious event that was. Once we opened the little door (which only lets one hen out at a time!) there was a mad dash to escape. We had hens flying over our heads to get in line. It was hilarious!
We left with a dozen eggs to incubate and hopefully some will hatch. No matter what happens we have had such an awesome time on our egg adventure we will have to do it again!

The mass exit! Too funny!

JoJo the rooster.

School Girl

Erin is loving have freedom to set up her schedule this year. She is in first grade and pretty proud of her level of responsibility. She really loves her little planner too! Checking things off the list is the best!

Cat in the Hat - Hats!

I realized March 1st that the next day was Dr. Seuss' birthday. This is one of those unit studies I have always wanted to do but kept putting off because I was never organized and had my things together to start. I still wasn't ready to start on March 1st! But instead of telling myself, I'll just do it next year, I gathered up what I had and got started. Sometimes I just get tired of not getting stuff done!

We have a few of the books so we started with a couple and Cat in the Hat was one of the first we read. Thanks again to Pinterest we had a snack craft to make. Cookie Dr. Seuss hats made out of Erin's beloved favorite cookies, oreos! Lindy and Paige even made some since they were so easy and cute. We used gummy lifesavers and stacked them on top of half the oreo and attached them with icing.

We now have a whole month of books and activities planned so the Dr. Seuss celebration will continue! Erin has been reading like crazy and is so excited to have so many new books she can read by herself.

Dr. Seuss Cookie Hats

Night School

Whew! Our days are packed! It has been this way all the school year and I think it was last year too, but it's a bit of a blur. Thankfully for homeschooling, we are able to do school at all hours. Lately we have been doing more in the evening and at night. Despite the fact we have multiple activities, it has been easy to work around those and get school work done.

The kids don't seem to mind and as they get older everyone is up later (hopefully I'm not raising night owls!). Our house is quite the hub of activity at ten o'clock at night but honestly I don't mind a bit. It's actually been kind of fun! No matter what time of day I love productivity!

Fancy Nancy

By far my favorite thing with homeschooling (there are tons of favorites!) is watching the kids learn to read. It is the neatest thing to watch them all start to "get it" and their faces just light up when they really are reading.

Erin has been reading for about a year and a half but in the last 6 months she reads all the time. She also reads everything; signs, workbooks, instructions, recipes, whatever has words.

My favorite time is snuggling up with her in a chair and listening to her read. Her favorites right now are all the Fancy Nancy books. I spoiled her a little bit and got her pretty much every one they had at Barnes and Noble. I love the vocabulary in them and the pictures are so cute. Who doesn't love Fancy Nancy? She makes me want to be fancy!

Taking A Break

Friday Field Trip! Headed to COSI with friends this afternoon to unwind from a busy school week. It feels good to have accomplished a lot but better to relax!

Hail to the Chief!

 In honor of Presidents Day we spent quite a few days in February reading various books and listening to our guest lecturer on Presidents (Kyle). The favorite activity though was our board game "Hail to the Chief". Kyle got this for his birthday last year and it has become one of everyone's favorites.
Presidential history, state history and trivia are your way around the board. You start by getting enough votes to "run" and then once you achieve that you are officially campaigning to get your electoral votes. Even Erin likes to play and with different levels of questions we can usually find one that will suit her.

Kyle is the King of Strategy! I think he has had memorized every states electoral votes since he was about 8. He still has fun playing!

Lindy is right behind Kyle in her love of history, she loves outsmarting her older brother!

Ethan pulled off winning his campaign, helped that he won California.

 Love this picture! Even though Lindy was having a bad allergy day and she is rubbing her nose its still a cool picture.

Academy of Science

This is the time of year that we get tons of school done. I prefer to hibernate all winter but we have fun in the process. Last year at the Homeschool Convention (which is a fabulous event!) Bill and I found these awesome science kits. Each one covers a different science topic in depth. The kits come with all the supplies to do the experiments and they are better than any science kit I have ever had. And we have had many different kinds of science curriculums! Since this company is devoted only to science they know how to make it fun.
The other great thing is that everyone can participate. For Ethan and the girls this has been great since they really like doing things all together. Even Erin has been keeping a science folder with her "results".
We brought home the Matter and Polymers Kits last spring and I am trying to figure out what I want to get this year. So many choices!
When they complete the unit they receive a certificate from the Academy of Science for Kids. So cool!
Here's a peek of what we've been doing:

This was an awesome lesson on atoms and making different elements. Great visualization!

Newport Aquarium

Field Trip to Newport Aquarium on Friday was a hit! The kids all had a great time. Here are some pictures of their favorites.

I loved this display on how the Loggerhead Turtles nest to lay their eggs. When we go to Folly Beach there are roped off areas where nesting sites are located. It was neat for the kids to see what is going on in the nest underground.

Gators

Shark petting was most of my kids favorites.

My personal favorite were the Jellyfish and the little map holder below! She was glued to her map the entire time. I was wondering if she would remember seeing anything but she did, and remembers her route too!

Erin's little happy dance! She had a great day.