Pinewood Derby

Mr. Wiedz and #2 participated in a Cub Scout tradition this month. The pinewood derby.

The packmaster gave each boy a block of pinewood for Christmas and the beginning of January Mr. Wiedz and #2 got started. They made a plan. They decided to make a replicate our drift boat, Wiedz Wonder.

They went to the neighbors and used the drill press to make holes in the body so they could sand out the inside.

Once the inside was completely sanded and ready to go. #2 added paint to the whole thing.

The details were the most fun. Though I didn't get pictures of them being made for the most part. They used clay to form seats and the anchor and paddles. This part was many days of forming and drying and painting.

Brother even helped!

Mr. Wiedz and #2 were so proud of their finished product.

The actual derby day came. It was a whole family affair (and I found out two days before that I was needing to bring 2-3 dozen homemade treats to share) and we were all excited to go and support #2 with his Cub Scout event.

When it came down to it his boat was too narrow to fit on the track so it didn't get to race. We were so proud of his good attitude and his support of the other Cub Scouts. He sat and watched all the other races and cheered for his friends. He didn't get upset about his car not making it.

He did get a best in show certificate and his boat was displayed on the prize table. Lots of people took pictures and came to see it.

He's so cute. I'm so proud. 

There are plans already for next years speed racer!

Rowing :: Goodnight Moon

We "rowed" Goodnight Moon this week. Now, most everyone has read this book to their children since before they were born. I have not. We haven't even had a copy before this Christmas. But it is a cute little book. I'm glad we have it now!

The boys and I have settled into a nice routine with the work we do together in the mornings. Right after "circle time" the big kids set to doing their independent work and we sit and read the book then start our activity. The only wrinkle I'm needing to work out is that #3 doesn't want to read the book by the end of the week. 

We started the week with mush just like in the book. #3 likes cream of wheat just like his daddy but everyone else had oatmeal.

Art ::

I don't get out the painting supplies very often but this week I thought they would really like it and I also thought it would keep they happily occupied while I got started with the big kids. They painted green rooms just like where the story takes place.

Seat work Activities ::

I got a couple of activities to do with the boys at the table. We did a sequencing paper where they glued the correct  picture as I read the story. This one was put together a little strange so as I cut them out I sorted them and only used pictures that represented items that were said goodnight to. I even put #4's in order for him.

We made mini-books of colors. 

Moon shapes. They just don't know how lucky they are that they got to paint twice in one week! I also used this water coloring activity as bait for the big kids to finish their math up then they could join in the water coloring. I had drawn stars in white on the papers then told the kids to paint night skies. The little guys didn't even notice the stars other than #4 really tried to make the paint stick to them. I also drew moon shapes for them to paint...we meant to cut them out and mount them...maybe early next week.

#4's night sky turned out so cool...he used lots of colors and really worked on it.

#4 doesn't even seem into painting...just done as fast as he can be. The moon shapes didn't turn out exactly as I'd planned. I really wanted them to use yellow but thought better to let them just do their own thing....

I wanted to get them balloons to play with but since I hardly leave the house it didn't happen!

Links ::

Story sequence

Moon shapes

What Color is the Balloon

Rowing next: Snowy Day

:: this moment ::

:: this moment ::  A photo from the week. Not too many words. A simple moment, extraordinary, special. Something I want to remember, cherish, to pause over. If you have a "moment" leave a link in the comments for others to find and share.

inspired by soulemama

Our first.

:: this moment ::

:: this moment ::  A photo from the week. Not too many words. A simple moment, extraordinary, special. Something I want to remember, cherish, to pause over. If you have a "moment" leave a link in the comments for others to find and share.

inspired by soulemama

Rowing :: ABC Bunny

Last week we rowed ABC Bunny which I thought went well but apparently #3 didn't enjoy too much as today when I asked him his favorite part of the book he said when you close the book, which is the last page. I didn't go too crazy with extras and stuff which I think was best since I wasn't too into it all last week. It was nice to read the sweet book each day and answer #4's questions each time...the same questions each day :).

Not too much seat work :

We did our narration exercise and the ABC Bunny activity card I found on the Internet. #3 and I had some trouble with the ABC activity until I sat right with him and figured out each card. In the end I think it was good practice for identifying his letters and recognizing the letter sounds. #4 really liked the whole exercise.

ABC Floor Puzzle :

The boys spent the morning before soccer putting together our ABC Floor Puzzle. I was really needing to do other things but wasn't sure if they'd be able to do it alone. But they were. #3 was so proud of himself!

ABC Hunt :

I saw this on delightful learning and thought it was cute but a little crazy. Not only did I figure I'd be more interested then they were, I'd have to put it all away too. Instead I made it a group activity after circle time. The big kids helped bring up the level of excitement. I just had to hang out at the table with #5 directing placement of some items and snap a picture. And they put it all away without much complaining!

Signing Time :

I borrowed a few Signing Time DVDs from the library and the boys watched the ABC Signs and My First Signs after we read the book some of the mornings. The little intro song really sticks in your head and we'd all be singing it most of the day.

ABC Phonics Song :

I've tried making sure we do the ABC phonics song at circle time each morning but I'm really hit or miss with that...maybe if I wrote these things down. We learned the phonics/signing song with #1 was in kindergarten and #2 learned it when he went through kindergarten at our old school. I'm thinking it'd be great for #3 and #4 with learning their letter sounds. A work in progress to be sure.

Knitted Bunnies :

I've got the bunnies 85% complete...I keep adding it to the bottom of my to-do list. They are real cute and I'll add them here when they do get handed out. Nicely they also go with our next book: Goodnight Moon. Ha! I didn't get them done for the next row or many more after that! I finished them in April! And handed them out unceremoniously the day after we finished rowing The Little Rabbit. But they turned out SO stinking cute!

Links:
knitted bunnies (nice button on the right side for the pattern)
ABC Bunny activity cards
Rag letters (didn't get these done but I love them...maybe when I figure out how to add a few hours to the day)

:: this moment ::

:: this moment ::  A photo from the week. Not too many words. A simple moment, extraordinary, special. Something I want to remember, cherish, to pause over. If you have a "moment" leave a link in the comments for others to find and share.

inspired by soulemama

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!Cheering for our Ducks! Good job getting to the BCS National Championships!

History is Alive :: African Instruments

We shook our way through our history of Ancient Africa last week...actually we did a week before Christmas (Ancient African Feast) and finished this week.

Friday afternoon we made these fun bottle cap shakers and had a great conversation about what Ancient African people may have made similar instruments out of.

It was a simple project and since it was me against 5 I did one kid at a time...

At the end we had four African shakers to make music with and a non-stressful craft to end our week!

Thanks to Uncle Kevi for providing all the bottle caps...we appreciate you and know you put a lot of effort into getting these for us!