Volcano!

On Friday we created our Volcano and once Donald got home from work we watched it erupt!















Click on the video...

Crafts

Today we will be making a volcano (dough and all). But first the kids wanted to paint. Joey pulled out the bulldozer kit and painted all the tiny pieces yellow. Macy chose to paint a butterfly magnet.

I will have to post the volcano pictures soon!

Sleepy Joe

The kids haven't been taking naps for the last week or so. However, Joey usually passes out on the couch around 4:00pm. Yesterday I caught him snoozing on his basketball!

Fossils

Macy learned about different types of rocks, geologic formations, and fossils earlier this week. Then we made some plaster and created our own "fossils" from leaf imprints. I would love to take them fossil hunting some day. I still remember my trip up past Kettle Falls (or was it Metaline Falls?) where our class had the opportunity to break open the sedimentary rocks and find amazing fossils!

"Air" Science Experiments

Donald and the kids performed more science experiments last weekend. First they did the "upside down trick" to show that air pushes on the cardboard and keeps it in place. Then they tried the "disappearing dent" to show that when the air inside the ping pong ball gets warmer, it expands and pushes the dent out.

Playtime at the Park

It has been so hot here that we don't leave the house during the day. However, around 7:30 pm we head down to the little park for some much-needed exercise!

Bon Voyage Tim!

Tim & Nicolette will be moving to Switzerland at the end of August! Tim came back to NM to visit his family a couple of weeks ago and The Nelson's & The Muzzy's planned a Bon Voyage party for him at the Muzzy's home in Rio Rancho. We had a great mini-Tech reunion, enjoyed seeing many of our college friends (and their new families) and celebrated Tim & Nicolette's new adventure in Switzerland.

We loved seeing everyone and we intend to have more get-togethers in the near future! Our friends nearly convinced us to move back to NM, and if the housing market was better in Tucson we probably would! (D even has a couple of possibly job opportunities!)

Ancient Egypt & Ancient Rome

Last week we learned about Ancient Egypt (among many other things) and Macy made a couple of Egyptian collars. This one is her favorite.














This week we are learning about Ancient Rome. Our first art project is a Horse & Chariot Mosaic. I need to find a couple more craft projects for this week! Or, on second thought, maybe we'll just do some more science experiments!

Water Balloons!

Yep, it's hot here in Arizona! On Sunday, D and the kids had an assembly line of water balloons to keep cool.


















Then D broke out the sling shot and the kids had a blast!

Rocket Balloon

D and the kids performed a few science experiments on Saturday. Macy is learning all about air right now, so they made a Rocket Balloon. They taped fishing line from one corner of the kitchen through the dining room and into the family room. D threaded the line through a straw, blew up the balloons, tapped them to the straw and let the kids let go of the balloon. A few balloons actually made it the entire length of the fishing line! Joey said it was the "best day ever"!

















We also added some more stuff to Macy's "classroom" wall.

First Week of School is Complete!

We have just finished our first week of Kindergarten! Macy is loving it and is quickly devouring her math and penmanship workbooks!


I've found that I need to reschedule our phonics curriculum because it is just too slow for her. Macy memorized her first Bible verse this week and is so proud of herself (as am I!) She is also very close to having the Pledge of Allegiance memorized!

We just finished our first read-aloud book, The Boxcar Children. The kids can't get enough of Mommy reading to them!

Today we learned about frogs and I found a cool craft project for the kids. Macy wanted to color her frog "beautiful colors", so she went to the bookshelf, grabbed her new Usborne Encyclopedia, and found the frogs. She made a colorful frog from the tropics...because they are poisonous so Joey won't touch her frog!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Macy has been counting down the days until she starts Kindergarten! Well, today was that long-awaited day...for both of us!


We started our day with the Pledge of Allegiance. I was never fond of this in school, because after saying it every school day for 12 years, it kind of lost its meaning. Macy and Joey love it and they are quickly learning what the Pledge means and what our flag represents.




















Then we read our Bible story for the day (Creation), read about dinosaurs in our Children's Encyclopedia, listened to mommy read Little Bo-Peep and then make Bo-Peep crafts.




We had a phonics lesson, explored our new picture dictionary (letter F this week), and completed THREE days worth of math lessons! For science, we read about Earth's place in the solar system and learned how long it takes for Earth to rotate once on its axis and how long it takes for Earth to travel around the sun. Then mommy had Macy & Joey do a hands-on activity to understand Day and Night a little better (and Joey loves holding that flashlight in the dark!) We finished the morning with a much needed handwriting activity (probably the most painful part of my day!)

Around 7:30 the sun had finally dipped below the mountains and it had cooled down to 102, so we went on a short bike ride to the park for some exercise. It was a quick trip because it was still VERY hot, it was dark and Joey kept asking to go back home.

The kids are ready for their baths and then we'll read some more of The Boxcar Children before bed. Macy can't wait to learn more tomorrow!

BOX DAY

Today is BOX DAY! We've been waiting patiently for the FedEx truck to deliver our new curriculum and he finally arrived!!!

Dance Camp & Math

Macy attended dance camp last week. She's been wanting to do ballet for a while now, but before we make that kind of commitment (time & money), we wanted to be sure that she would actually participate!

She definitely had fun at camp, but (as I expected) she was quite distracted by the wall of mirrors and the other dancers. Maybe we'll find a dance class next Spring and see if she's still interested.




Macy has shown quite an interest in her math worksheets! Her addition is great and she's now practicing her subtraction!

Water Park & Pizza

On Saturday afternoon we took the kids to Breakers Water Park. They all had a great time (and wanted to go back the next day!)



On Sunday, D brought the kids down and they each made their own pizza.

Strudels

Donald had the kids help him make Strudels on evening.