dirtsongschool

Jan 2 Today we did some easy worksheets to get back into a rhythm. - Counting by 2s worksheet - Measuring around the house worksheet - Map of South America worksheet and labeled on a map where we've talked about Then we were really excited to try papyrus paper - River started on a papyrus coloring page with watercolor paints. She was so excited to have something from Egypt! While she painted we read some of our library books about Egypt before they need returned.  Jan 3 - practiced subtraction with flashcards - subtraction worksheet, (BQ 208) Last night River was practicing phonics on HOP so we did some BQ worksheets to go over digraphs SH and TH - SH and TH (BQ 26, 27) River also spent a while making her own stamps.  Jan 5 With our BU group we discussed ocean acidification. The kids picked their own seashells to draw, and then added them to a jar of vinegar. They also picked a control to put in a jar of water. We spent a long day playing at the park.  The she...

We took a winter break for weeks 17 and 18 from bookwork and lessons. We received lots of games for Christmas and have enjoyed them a lot. "Gameschool" isn't generally a method I have considered but now I'm glad we've found it. River learns best through interest and play, and so it's worked out really well these last two weeks to get some practice with math and word building while playing games, as well as working on confidence, perseverance, thoughtful consideration, etc. We've been playing Happy Hats, Bananagrams, Shut the Box, Uno, Elefun, Candyland, and more. The kids have also enjoyed the tangrams some mornings and evenings.  We've also kept up with our reading, for most of the time we read Christmas stories, but had some Hannukah themes, too. We've also been reading our Egypt extra reading books, and River has really been enjoying a variety of Vox books, especially a MSB Vox book about the human body. We've also tried some early reader Vo...

Dec 11 We tried some different expiraments today. The kids played with baking soda and vinegar for a while, trying different ratios. River really enjoyed making "fake snow". She used a bento box and a muffin tin to sort her different ratios. Then we tried making oobleck, made a giant mess, and mixed it with different baking soda and vinegar ratios to make variations. River really enjoyed making a "sandy oobleck". We talked about different states of matter, textures, and practiced measuring/fractions.  Dec 12 Today we met with friends at Fair Hill Nature Center. We went on a long hike, got lost and had to redirect. We got back to the Nature Center and it was closed, but the kids enjoyed the grounds so much. We checked out the pond, the weather station, and played some games. Then the kids opened their own shop in this little tunnel, they sold all kinds of different things. It started with firewood and ice ("AC!") and then...

We've had a pretty slow week... We had a bit of family stuff going on and just needed to take it easy. It was a good week full of play, winter cleaning, holiday planning, and rest!  Dec 5  We met with friends at the library. The kids each picked a country to represent in our Christmas cookie exchange, and River chose Japan. We are working from the book called "A World of Cookies for Santa", by M. E. Furman. Our friends all picked some exciting places, and we're excited to learn about different customs around the world.  Dec 7 We played sink or float, before hand we always made an estimated guess, it was fun to see what we got right or wrong.  We did a "dress like an ancient Egyptian" craft after studying some different popular head garments from our books. River's is so fun! Then we watched an episode of Fixies called "The Pyramid".  Dec 8 Today River practiced her site words. Unfortunately we missed meeting ...

Nov 27 Today we worked on skip counting. River did two quick worksheets and we I made print outs of skip counting mazes that she enjoyed. We started with by 2, 5, and I gave her 10s to check out too. Then we did a map worksheet for North America and practiced our site words. River picked 11 words as spelling words so we made a list with pictures and a dry erase worksheet for her to practice on.  River picked our next theme reading list as "Egypt".  Nov 28 Today we met with friends to talk about forming a new co-op group. We had fun playing, climbing trees, playing games (they had lots of games like Wild Craft and it was so fun!).  Nov 29 We had a library day. We got tons of books on Egypt and played some fun library games, including an addition game.  In the evening we played Happy Hats to practice word building, it was fun! Nov 30 Today we did a lesson on ancient Egypt, we read through two books, Eyewitness and the Uno...

Nov 21 Today was the day of the play! The kids did so great! I put together an art show of all the kids work they've done in art. We also had a bake sale to raise money for the co-op and made over 300$!   Nov 22 Today we did a couple of crafts that River made up (bookmarks). Then we went outside to collect leaves for a Thanksgiving craft and River decided to do a water expiration that she made up. After the kids played outside for a while they came in and we made a Thankful tree with leaves of all the things we're thankful for.  River has been enjoying a book, "Brains, Not Just a Zombie Snack" and it's been a great introduction to learning about the brain and it's function.  Over Thanksgiving break we were really lucky to focus on family time. We read some extra books that fit our "Gratitude" extra reading list. We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for some of our family and River was a big help cooking, bakin...