Just in time to take a break for Christmas.
The boys couldn't wait to put the tree up so we did that right after Thanksgiving. Benjamin has since made it his mission in life to remove every ornament that he can reach.
Fortunately, his big brothers have been helping me make sure that all the "dangerous" ornaments are already on the top half of the tree.
Needless to say, our Christmas tree looks pretty interesting this year. And we all think it's beautiful.
Once the boys were feeling better they were able to venture out and about to the different activities that they enjoy.
The museum offers classes specifically for homeschoolers and it's such a wonderful opportunity. Once a month they have classes on Tuesday or Thursday and divide the kids up into three groups: preschool/kindergarten, ages 6-8 and ages 9-12. Michael and Thomas are in separate classes and I attend Matthew's class with him.
Benjamin tags along, of course.
Each class covers one topic, presented in an age-appropriate way for each group. In Matthew's class we have a lesson presented with a story and then do a craft and explore some hands-on stations that are related to the topic.
When all the boys are done with their class we spend another hour or so exploring the rest of the museum.
So far they've had classes about Forecast and Climate Change, American Indians and Space Weather. I'm sure you can guess which one was their favorite.
Getting to visit the Planetarium and Observatory at the museum was definitely the highlight of their week. But one of their favorite parts of the museum is an outdoor area with live animals. They find the River Otters to be especially interesting.
There are also deer, turkeys, eagles, falcons, owls, raccoons and foxes. During our visit this week we made a point to read and observe how each animal might adapt for the winter. Matthew noticed right away that the rabbits had turned white!
We really enjoy spending the day at the museum learning, exploring and visiting with other homeschooling families.
The boys also continue to enjoy their art class. Between illness in our family and their teacher being sick, they had about three weeks in a row without it and were starting to experience some withdrawal! I actually remembered to snap a picture with my phone one day recently when I picked them up.
Recently they finished up a soccer session in gym class. Before that they learned about basketball and really enjoyed both sports. There are usually eight or nine kids in the class - seven boys and two girls. The first half of each class is free play and the second half is with an instructor. By the time each Friday rolls around, they are usually ready for some time running around the gym!
Michael and Thomas also had a field trip to the Police Museum this week with the Cub Scouts, but I don't have any pictures of it, since I didn't go with them. It sounded like a fun trip, though, and they learned a lot by listening to a retired police officer during the tour.
In between our regular school work and outings, the boys have stayed busy with Legos, game playing (there was a spontaneous three-day Monopoly event. I think Matthew won), and preparing for Christmas.
We still have plenty of shopping, baking and crafting to do next week. Not to mention cleaning and laundry and traveling!
Oh and school work, too.
I hope that you are enjoying the holiday season!
~ Dori
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