Finally Friday!!!

Yes, finally Friday. We've wrapped up our school week this morning with science and a lesson on friction for both. They enjoyed experimenting with ice, sand paper, hardwood, cloth, and pledge.

Seeing how easy it is to "skate" across the hardwood
on rags. It was fairly easy, even easier after I sprayed
Pledge on the floor. Yes, I really did. I've also cleaned
it up well after with vinegar. It's not to slippery now.

Trying to skate barefoot. Definitely the more difficult option.

The boys first rubbed ice against ice. This slipped fairly
easily. Second, they tried rubbing ice on a piece of sand paper
that was on the ground. A little more difficult. Third, they tried
to sand the sand paper, while pressing down. This was the hardest
to do. This was to show how friction works with two rough
surfaces rubbing against each other versus being lubricated.

Monday Musing

It's still early today (5:41 AM by our Set Top Box) or "6:41 AM before we changed our clocks" according to Thing One. It is still VERY dark out side, but there is enough light outside to "see" the shine on our vehicles to know that it rained over night. There very well may still be a light mist coming down. Another week begins in the cold and dark.

We'll begin our school week with the second week of "Hanna's Cold Winter" and a week with "Mr. Gumpy's Motorcar". I'm looking forward to this week, because the outside activities have slowed down a bit. On the same note, but not so fortunately, we are battling what may be common colds or could be the flu. Because I just don't know yet, we're trying to take it easy, lay low, and get healthy. Our school days may be a little less organized as a result, but we'll get everything done that needs to be.

On the home remodeling front, progress is being made in the basement. The whole utility room has a dropped ceiling now, the HVAC trunk and steel I beam have been drywalled, and the second window well has been drywalled. Our contractor will be back today to do the final sanding and priming. I'll hopefully be able to paint those areas later today. My end of the job isn't finished though. Another trip to Home Depot for a piece of drywall, more spackle, an outlet cover, HVAC register cover, and return a couple of things.

Window well drywalled

Framing for wall behind sink

School this week!

Sure has been a hoot! We're not even rowing "Owl Moon" yet. Okay, so that maybe a bad joke if you don't know the Five in a Row books.

Ferdinand has probably given me the most giggles and time to think. There is one portion of text that says "Well, if you were a bumble bee and a bull sat on you what would you do?" While reading, I'd typically pause after this, to which Thing Two would respond, "I'd fart!!" Really don't know where this came from, but today he actually said something along the lines of "sting the bull" which is close to what the text said. I was almost disappointed. The story makes me think of my oldest, Thing One, as well. In the story, Ferdinand the bull, is content to do his own thing, under the cork tree, sniffing flowers. He isn't lonely or anything; he just doesn't have a desire to but heads with other bulls, run around and snort, or anything else a bull might do. The story reminds me of how God makes each of us so different from the next and just because you don't fit society's view of normal doesn't mean you don't have something to contribute.

Anyway, I took a few pictures yesterday, of their Art projects for the day. Yesterday, I choose to post a Wordless Wednesday, so I'm writing about Art today instead of Math. The boys had fun with figuring out balance with stuffed animals - a lesson from Hanna's Cold Winter. Thought it was cute that Thing Two used his own hippo in the picture. Both boys did well on that task. For Ferndinand, we discuss drama and how to express yourself given a few different cue cards; things like sitting on a bee when you are the bee, sitting on a bee when you are the bull, running and snorting like a bull, and a few others. That was fun to see the boys getting their wiggles out.

The boys acting out bulls running and jumping,
hence the blurriness of the photo's even with the
camera being on sports setting.

Learning about balance with using their stuff animals;
an art assignment from Hanna's Cold Winter.

Happy Sunday!!

I've finished lesson planning, for the most part, for the next couple weeks. In looking around for pictures of the books we are rowing for Five in a Row, I came across this web page about Trish Marx, author of Hanna's Cold Winter. It's a neat page and will review a few times during the next couple weeks.

Anyhoot, Thing One will be working through "Hanna's Cold Winter" and Thing Two will be working through "Ferdinand the Bull".