April 18th- April 24

Sunday- Today was all about money! First we watched a episode of Modern Marvels that was all about money. It discussed how money is made, the security measures imbedded in the money, and a brief history of money in the United Stated. Then we started paper mache piggy banks. We are going to finish them throughout the week. We have also decided to start giving our children allowance. After a lot of reading, we have decided against making the allowance chore based. We are strictly using it for lessons about money. The girls will get $2 a week and Corbin will get $1 a week. However, they are now responsible to buy their own snacks at gymnastics if they want one, or saving up for things like taking a trip to the park at the MOA or ValleyFair this summer. We have also made a deal that if they save up for half, we will pay for the other half of a season pass to Underwater world.

Monday- This morning Amara played her jumpstart game. Just a peek into what all learning activities the jumpstart game offers, today she did letter recognization, counting, charts, adding, subtracting and reading. ALL in 1 1/2 of game play. Ava played educational games on the v-smile (which included reading, adding, subtracting and logic). We put another layer of paper mache on our piggie banks and gave the kids their first allowance. We walked to the library (which is great exercise) where the kids played educational games (about 15 minutes each). Amara and Corbin looked at books and Ava read "Happy Birthday Biscuit". The kids already decided to spend some of their allowance on an ice cream cone at McDonald's (to take a break before we walked home), but they stopped and contemplated it so it is a good beginning to teaching them the concept of saving/spending money.

Tuesday- Today we went to play soccer with the homeschooling group. Ava was super excited that her friend Faith was there. I really love going because the age group ranges from kindergarten to High schoolers and the older kids are so helpful with the younger ones. We watched Monster Quest about "The Sierra Sasquatch". We love that they show all kinds of scientific methods for tracking down, researching and understanding things. Then we watched a video called "The Statue of Liberty" by Ken Burns. Ava read 6 pages in a Scooby Doo book. We all put another layer of paper mache on our piggy banks. They should be ready to paint soon.


Wednesday- The kids played at their friend Kiryn's house for the afternoon. Then they made scultpures of the statue of liberty with clay.
We had the girls each read 10 dolch site words. We then watched "School House Rocks: EARTH". It talked about what individuals can do to help be more green. Afterwards we walked around our block and picked up trash. Sadly, we only went about 2 square blocks and were able to fill two grocery bags with garbage. I am disappointed with how disgusting the streets of Detroit Lakes are.

Thursday- HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE!! Today we were out in Fargo, so we stopped by the mall so the kids could play. The girls each reviewed about 20 dolch site word cards each in the car and watched "Bill Nye: Pseudoscience". I read them a SpongeBob book about recycling and why it is important. The girls had gymnastics today. While Amara waited her turn, I read a book to her and while Ava waited for Amara to get done I started reading "NightJohn" to her. It is a book written from the point of view of a slave girl. We watched "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" from last week and were amazed (and saddened) that the flavored milk had more sugar than POP! We watched Destination Truth and the kids learned about Petra in Jordan.

Friday- Today the girls each spent 45 mintues on their jumpstart game. Then they did some adding and subtracting as well as writing and reading 10 dolch words. Ava worked on math charts. Then they listened to me read 3 chapters of "NightJohn" by Gary Paulsen. We discussed slavery (the kids were shocked at how horrible dark skinned people were treated) and the Civil War. I then read 4 pages from "The Big Civil War Book". We covered the start of the Civil War. We played hide and seek and the girls took turns counting different ways (by 1's, 5's, 10's) when it was their turn to be it. We put the feet and noses and last layer of paper mache on our piggie banks and then watched "demolition" on the National Geographic channel. It was very informative about the different pieces of equipment construction workers use. We also worked on learning the names of the 50 states. We watched a video on teachertube.com (an old clip from the cartoon Anamaniacs). It was a song to help memorize the states and their capitols.

Saturday- The kids started painting their piggie banks. They are going to have to do a couple of layers, but what kid doesnt love to paint. They talked to their grandma via webcam. Amara read a few pages of "Birthday for Buscuit" while Ava played "twinkly twinkle little star" on the keyboard.


I read two more chapters of "Night John" to the kids. We discussed why slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write and how they should feel lucky to have the opportunity to get a good education. We did a little exercising in the basement (practicing gymnastics and the kids ran around). Then we worked on helping the kids learn the medical names of the bones. Then we worked on naming the 50 states. The kids were able to name about 10 on their own and 35 with help. Lastly, we watched the season Finale of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution". I was sad to see it end because it was a great educational tool. I am however very proud of our children for all they know about nutrition and keeping their bodies healthy.