Earth Day!

Did you do anything special for Earth Day this year? Now that Ignacio can read, he likes to look for upcoming holidays in our family calendar. He has been looking forward to Earth Day for some time now. We decided to celebrate Earth Day the entire weekend by just getting out there and enjoying the outdoors. Ignacio and I started the weekend by volunteering at a local nature reserve. We pulled enough Garlic Mustard to fill half a garbage bag. We then went on a mini hike and bumped into a naturist. He took the time to talk to Ignacio about different plants and share ideas for future visits. On our way back, we met an astrophysicist! Turns out he shares Ignacio’s love for both Pluto and Betelgeuse, how awesome is that?! We enjoyed the rest of the weekend in our backyard and a local park. This is by no means a complete list of our activities, but I thought I’d share a few highlights.

Upon arriving at the nature center, we were asked to pull Garlic Mustard. It is invading the area and not allowing native plants to grow. I really liked how thoroughly everything was explained to Ignacio. They showed us pictures of what the plant looked like and explained why it needed to be pulled. The importance of pulling the root was also stressed. Ignacio was a natural! There were a few times that we found a worm within the root. We always set it free.

Afterwards we decided to enjoy one of the paved trails.  Ignacio decided to do this while walking backwards.  I have no idea what he is doing with his hands, he kind of reminds me of Frankenstein here!

He thought this was the perfect spot to rest.  He plans on bringing a book with him to read here next time we go, he claims it is very comfy.

The fun continued when we returned home.  We hula-hooped, played with bubbles, jumped rope, and enjoyed our swing set.  Francisco is determined to climb up the slide, he has yet to do so…

So much fun!
 

Sunday was full of fun times as well.  Ignacio loves to “fly like Superman”!  We tried to play Frisbee, but Francisco thought it was more fun to play keep-away. 

 

We decided to go kite flying, but once we got to an open field the wind just wasn’t strong enough anymore.  Good thing we brought our boomerang!  

 

I’m a sucker for beautiful flowers…

 

We also enjoyed the sunset…

 

Stay tuned, more Earth Day fun to come.

Shedd Aquarium | Follow Up

I thought I’d stick with the aquarium theme for a few days after visiting the Shedd. Nothing big or formal. We borrowed Life-Size Aquarium from the library before our visit. Ignacio read his Dive into the Ocean issue of Chirp Magazine on the way to the aquarium. Back home, we saw Dolphins: IMAX on Netflix the next day. I also left a stack of ocean related books on the kitchen table, Ignacio was free to read from them as he pleased. I took care of my three year old nephew for a few hours that week, Ignacio had a good time “teaching” him about the ocean.

Books we read:

Usborne’s First Encyclopedia of Seas & Oceans by Ben Denne

Usborne’s 1001 Things to Spot in the Sea by Katie Daynes

Usborne’s See Under the Sea by Kate Davies

Life-Size Aquarium by Teruyuki Komiya

Field Trip | Shedd Aquarium

We recently spent the day at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  We had a great time.  I thought I’d share a few highlights.

1. This adorable turtle has a spinal injury.

2. Rainbow fish… isn’t it beautiful?

3. Ignacio had just read a magazine article about Rainbow fish. It said that they are usually about the length of your finger. He was checking to see if it was true.

4. I love the way Stingrays swim, they look like they are flying.

5. Stingray smile!

6. Francisco, waiting for the show to begin.

7. I love seahorses, but they are so hard to photograph. I’m glad I was able to get some good shots.

8. Ignacio comparing his size to that of an Emperor penguin.

9. What an end to the Aquatic Show, four Pacific White Sided Dolphins jumping out of the water. You should have heard Ignacio the first time one of them flew out of the water. All he kept saying was “wow!”.

10. Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

11. The dolphins really like swimming upside down.

12. My beautiful boy. He wanted to have a puffin painted on his face, like The Mighty Sven in Happy Feet Two.

13. He just turned five in November and already he is 3’10” tall.

14. Veteran’s Memorial at Soldier Field.

15. Beluga whale.

16. Francisco, shortly before he had a meltdown. My husband ended up having to take him out for a walk and missed the end of the show.

17. They have workers blowing bubbles for the kids waiting in line, it was a huge hit!

18. A Beluga swam by to say hello. I love Beluga whales’ expression; something about that constant smile feels so sincere to me. I swear they make eye contact!

We don’t go to the Shedd as often as we’d like to, unfortunately it is just not in our budget.  The cost adds up quickly, but it is definitely worth it to go at least once or twice a year.  You should definitely plan a visit if you find yourself in the area.

stART | What Makes a Rainbow?

Although Ignacio is now reading, I make it a point to still read at least one book a day to him.  He usually jumps in and we end up reading the book together.  We moved while I was recovering from surgery and I have yet to finish unpacking.  I like to bring a few books out at a time as a surprise.  I took advantage of Francisco’s nap and brought out “What Makes a Rainbow” by Betty Ann Schwartz. 

We read this book when he was younger, but he didn’t remember it.  When he first saw it he complained that I had brought out a “baby book”.  That all changed once we opened it and began reading.  He loved the way the ribbons formed a rainbow.

I love the colors used in the illustrations.

As Ignacio would say, “The happy ending”.

Ignacio has been very interested in collages lately.  When I saw a blow post showing how to make a rainbow collage I knew we had to try it.  I have some rolls of kraft paper that measure 13.5x30”, I began by taping one to the floor.  I purchased back issues of National Geographic magazine at a thrift store and piled them next to the paper.  Once I was ready, I showed Ignacio the blog post over at Art Projects for Kids using my NOOKcolor.

This project was a joint effort.  I cut out some of the more elaborate shapes, but he had a great time finding pictures we could use.

We began by simply placing the pictures into groups.  I’m glad I decided to wait until the end to glue them down.  It was like building a jigsaw puzzle.  It was interesting to see how the perception of color changes with its surroundings.  We thought we had too much orange, but once we started putting it together we realized it was actually the opposite.  Some of the orange pictures were really more of a red, others yellow.  We ended up having to go back and find more true orange.  Ignacio’s favorite color is green, of course we had more than enough of that color.

By the time we finished cutting everything, he needed a break and asked me to glue it all myself.  Once I was done I covered the entire collage with contact paper.  It was surprisingly easy.  There were a few air bubbles, but I find that in this case it actually adds to the appeal.  Here is the finished collage.

A closer look:

We really had a great time.  Ignacio wants to make another collage.  It was a very affordable project.  The roll of paper cost me .50 and the magazines were .20 each.  I should point out that I did finish an entire glue stick, glad I always have a few on hand.  What a great afternoon!

On a side note, while at the library the following day I came across “Ruby, Violet, Lime: Looking for Color” by Jane Brocket.  While it is more of a concept book than a story book, I think it is also a great choice for this project.

Make sure to check out more stART projects at A Mommy’s Adventures.

Book Review | Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World

While at the library, I came across “Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World” by Susan Hughes. I am so glad I decided to check it out. This 64 page book packs a punch! Ignacio and I both loved it so much, I’ve decided to buy a copy for our home library. This book was such an interesting read. It clearly shows that “school” is about the act of learning, regardless of the building in which the learning is taking place. I especially enjoyed the fact that the book did not limit itself to profiling just the schools, it also explained the children’s living conditions, and shared the stories of individual people that are truly making a difference. The book profiles 23 amazing schools around the world, devoting a two page spread to each. The wonderful pictures really caught Ignacio’s attention. The book ends with a map of the world, showing where each school is located, as well as a list of resources to help more children learn. I thought I’d share a peek inside.

Boat Schools in Chalanbeel Region, Bangladesh:

Shadid Rajaei Elementary School in Kalou, Iran:

Dongzhong Primary School in Dongzhong, China:

Mobile Schools in Cali and Popayán, Colombia:

Grand Oaks Academy in Paris, United States.  (I thought I’d mention that while I was happy to see a spread devoted to homeschooling, I’m not sure how I feel about their example.  While I understand that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to homeschooling, I don’t know how many homeschoolers build a school house in their backyard.  Also, the family profiled essentially prepared their daughters to attend public high school and are no longer homeschooling.  This was my personal observation, Ignacio made no comment on the fact.):

Kindergarten Update and Curriculum

I’m think I’ll review some of the curriculum we’ve been using. I’ll have more in depth posts in the future. Here is a basic list:

Math: Horizons - Kindergarten (abacus, flash cards, etc.)

Reading: Explode the Code – We completed Books 1 and 2, currently half way through book 3.

Writing: For most of the year, Explode the Code has doubled as our writing curriculum. We also wrote a lot of stories and letters this year. We recently began using How to Write Book Reports PK-K and Grammar & Punctuation 1 (both by Evan Moor).

Social Studies: Ignacio is a huge fan of Geography. We have many maps and globes. We recently began using Beginning Geography K-2 by Evan Moor.

Science: We have been using Teaching the Fun of Science to Young Learners PK-2 by Janice VanCleave.

Spanish: Teach Them Spanish! K and Everyday Words in Spanish by Usborne.

Art: He takes a weekly art class. We also craft a lot and have a variety of art books by Usborne.

Gym: He takes a weekly P.E. class and a weekly swim class. He was in a dance group the first half of the year. We also play a lot and take many walks.

Additional info: It is worth mentioning that we also read a lot of library books. The topics vary, but they are usually about science or geography. We also play computer games. Also, his art and gym classes are specifically for homeschoolers. How cool is that?

At five years old Ignacio can:

• Count past 200. He gets bored and chooses to stop, usually somewhere around 220.

• He can also count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 100’s, and by 3’s if he uses his fingers to keep track.

• He is adding and subtracting single digit numbers and double digit numbers.

• Is beginning simple word problems.

• Can read! Just today he finished reading Little Bear all by himself. He has also read the entire Piggie and Elephant series by Mo Willems.

• He writes using basic sentences. Always uses upper case letters and ending punctuation correctly. He has recently begun using apostrophes as well.

• He knows all 50 states by name. He recognizes each by shape and knows where they are located on a map. He also knows some state capitals and can recognize a variety of countries.

• He knows more about the solar system than I do. He knows all of the planets and dwarf planets. He also knows some of their moons and can recognize some constellations. When looking at the night sky, he almost always knows if he is looking at a star or a planet and is actually pretty accurate at naming the planet he is looking at. This is without a telescope, judging by brightness and location. He likes to use my GoogleSky ap to see if he was right.

• He is understanding a lot more Spanish now. His accent has also improved a lot. He can recognize color and number words when they are written.

• He has always been afraid of the water, but last week he learned to float.

Where has time gone? When life takes over…

Oh my poor neglected little blog. It is hard to believe that I have not posted in over a year.

What happened? Life happened.

My baby was born October 2010. We decided to name him Francisco. I won’t go into details now, but in a span of thirteen months I had four surgeries. Four surgeries, while caring for an infant and continuing to homeschool Ignacio. I had to prioritize my life and when it came down to it, this blog didn’t make the cut. Also, did I mention the internet stopped working on my laptop? Or rather, it only works when it is plugged directly into our router, which happens to be in the basement. I have kept a journal though. I try to write in it weekly. It was nice to read through my older blog posts, see how far we have come. That was the point in creating this blog. I want to document this time in our lives. I’ll be back soon. I think I’ll just pick up where I left up, might have a few catch up posts.

I’ll introduce Francisco with this layout I made prior to getting sick. He was so tiny then. Are you familiar with digital scrapbooking? It was a major hobby of mine, haven’t really done that either. Note to self: scrap!