ZOO

Wednesday was FREE ZOO DAY at Hogle Zoo! So, of course, we braved the crowds and mile-long walk from the parking lot to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather and see all the animals.



The penguins were a favorite right off. They are so active and fun compared to the animals that simple munch grass the whole time. Sadie especially loved it when they "played follow-the-leader" and waddled around in a nice little line. Another favorite were the bears; they were wrestling, up on hind legs and rolling around, biting and bumping. It reminded me a lot of my boys! :o)



I must confess, my personal best at the zoo was just watching the kids. I love seeing their faces light up when the animals do something cool, or when they learn some new piece of information. I also loved their imitation of the bats flying around! So I basically took pictures of the kids, not the animals, and we all had a great time!





The last two pictures are of our Chinese Dragon Dance back in January. I finally loaded them onto my computer!

Favorite Book Review: Fablehaven

As a family, we are currently reading aloud the third Fablehaven book, by Brandon Mull. The kids have loved the series, and I've loved reading it to them. It has parts that are a scary, so it's nice to be able to talk about it with them and even skip over certain parts if they're really concerned. The diverse and challenging vocabulary is perfect for Nathan, but not so complicated that Brandon doesn't understand what's happening.

It's about two kids who visit their grandparents on a nature preserve and find out that it is actually a preserve for magical creatures. They learn some great lessons and the book has several discussion suggestions and questions at the back of it.

The story is fabulous! I'm having as much fun reading it as the kids are!

So much to do...

I have to admit, this past week was pretty laid back educationally. We did math and reading and lots of real life skills, but not much about space. I think we're all ready to get back into it again. We're also going to be working on projects for the Science Fair, which is at the end of March. Nathan has his idea all figured out, and Brandon's still brainstorming.

After much thought and deliberation, we've decided to try to sell our condo. It simply costs more than it is worth. As soon as we get our tax return back, we will fix everything that is broken or in need of repair and then (hopefully) sell it. We will need to rent again, instead of own, but it's what is best for us. The challenges of ownership (especially in this condo) are simply not worth the money we invest.

So, if you know anyone who would like a three-bedroom condo... let us know. The pool is great, and there is a fantastic Calvin and Hobbes mural in one of the bedrooms. :o) Also, if you know of a great house to rent, we'll be looking in a month or two. We mainly want a yard for the kids and a home where no one lives beneath us.

Valentine's Day, the Moon and a Priest

I'm falling into my old habit of never updating my blog! So, this week I will apply myself with renewed enthusiasm and diligence...

It's been over a week since I posted anything and it's been a very busy week, so here's a quick sum up of what's been going on at our house:

We began our study of outer space. I decided to begin closest to home and move out - so we've learned all about the moon. I checked several books about space out of the library to go with this unit, and it turns out Nathan has already read three of the six books! Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I'm the teacher. There were some things he didn't remember, and I even found some information that was completely new! So here's a bit of what we worked on this week:

The drawing of the moon was done with gray pastels; fun and messy!

The five-petal flower lists things they would take into space with them. Apparently Brandon had a difficult time narrowing his list down to five things. We talked about how space can be really cold because of the lack of atmosphere, so hot cocoa was the first thing on his list. :o)

The sun is this week's focus, after our President's Day Vacation, of course. There is so much to learn! But the kids are truly excited about this unit, which is very fulfilling to a homeschool mom. One of my biggest goals was to help them discover a love of learning and we're actually making progress! Math is still not considered fun and exciting, but honestly, I don't blame them. It's not my favorite either...


Valentines Day was a major part of our week as well. I always loved making and decorating my Valentine box and the kids had a great time as well. I'll try to put pictures up of their boxes. Each one is unique and wonderful. Sadie's box was made with our Chinese Dragon head. She and Nick worked together to paint a long thin box for the body and it turned out great! Nate decided on a dice (die?) inspired by a very square box. He did a great job painting it and needed almost no supervision. Brandon took the longest to decide and ended up doing a fabulous treasure chest that he intends to keep for the rest of his life. :o)

We attended a Home-school Valentine's Day party on Friday. The kids had a blast! It was big, loud, full of games and candy, and there were tons of kids! What more could you ask for? They were also lucky enough to do a little Valentine's party with my mom on Monday. She always does amazing things with them and they really had a great time.

So, we had TONS of valentines and candy before Valentine's Day had even arrived! My sil was kind enough to watch our kids that night, and we'll watch hers on Monday, so Nick and I were able to have the night to ourselves!!! After changing our minds several times, we ended up buying ice cream and a movie and just relaxing and talking together. It may not seem particularly romantic, but it was quiet and peaceful and we enjoyed the time just being with each other.

Today, my youngest brother was ordained a priest. Hurray John! It was so wonderful to see him make wise choices and accept greater responsibilities. I just have to say how much I appreciate having him as a little brother. It's a bit strange, because I moved out when he was only five or six, and I'm not sure he remembers me living at home. But he's been so good to my kids! He plays with all of them, entertains them and is so helpful. Thank you John!

We decided to attend church in my parents ward today, because the ordination was right in the middle of our ward's meetings. But I had forgotten that their ward doesn't start until eleven. Our's is at nine and that's what time was stuck in my head. So this morning, we were all rushing around trying desparately to get ready in time for church and were about ready to leave when Nathan, the wise nine-year-old, asks "Doesn't their church start at eleven? Why are we going so early?" Nick and I just looked at each other. Thank goodness for Nate's memory of random details! We ended up having a very relaxed, enjoyable morning after that and were even a little early for the ordination. :o)

Happy Groundhog Day!!

This was a cute activity, and a break from the normal school-day routine. I saw the idea online somewhere and tweaked it to comply with the materials I had on hand. They turned out great. We are also tracking the weather to see how accurate the groundhog is. After some discussion they decided Spring will be here when the temperature is between 40-60 for one week. I'm afraid that might not happen until April or even May, but we're keeping track anyway. :o)

The End of China

We finally completed our Unit Study of China!!! It was so much fun and we all learned a lot. Most of the work the kids did about China is put into lapbooks, though there are some things we couldn't fit (like our dragon). They are still the biggest lapbooks we have made yet; eight full pages, plus a cover page! You really ought to see the actual product to appreciate all the flaps, pockets and pull-outs; but here are some pictures anyway. These are Nate and Brandon's cover pages, followed by the pages in Brandon's lapbook... (I showed Nate's work last time, so it's Brandon's turn.)



The children have voted and we are on to our next educational adventure: OUTER SPACE!

Snug as a bug

After two weeks of Sadie sleeping in the boys room every night, I finally agreed to let her move in. Her toys are still downstairs, but her bed and dresser are upstairs. All three of them have been really wanting this move. How can I say 'no' to such family togetherness? Also, the upstairs room is warmer at night.

If we are all still happy with this decision at the end of the month and we have decided not to move, I may turn the downstairs room into more of a school room. That would make our dining room a little more open and would be a fun project.