Califoregon Living

I had such a hard time getting through this one!  I liked the book, but it seemed like there were more activities AND they were more in depth than before.  (I think they are prepping us for the FIAR (Five in a Row) series).  But, we are just entering summer and want to gear down, instead of up!  I ended up not doing all of the activities.  The kids are antsy to begin the next book…

Title: Katy No-Pocket

Author: Emmy Payne

Illustrator: HA Ray

Copyright: 1944

Summary:  Mother kangaroo Katy has no pocket for her joey.  She searches for a solution.

Bible

This is a story about kindness and generosity. 

We looked up Deuteronomy 15:8, “Rather be open handed and freely lend him whatever he needs.”

and,

1 Timothy 6:18, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share.”

We talked about the different times we witnessed kindness in the book:

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  the animals who share their ideas with Katy
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  the man who gave Katy his apron
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  Katy saying “thank you”
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  Katy giving all the animals rides in her apron pockets

Science: Animals

This book holds a wide variety of animals.  We classified: crocodiles, deer, opossum, skunk, raccoon, snails, ostriches, lizards.  ‘A’ recognizes all of them.  ‘R’ can do about half.

We talked about different ways mother animals care for their young.  I asked ‘A’ what I do to take care of him and ‘R’.  He replied, “you hug me, you take good love of me, you take us to the doctors, you wash my hair, you draw tattoos on us.”  He also added that, “Daddy brought ‘Minus’ (his stuffed dog) home.”

I asked ‘R’ the same thing and he replied, “play cars”.

We looked at a world map and talked about the different places where the animals (in the book) live.

Memory

We played a memory game.  I had ‘A’ study the page that had the man’s tools.  I said the tool names to the boys and had ‘R’ repeat them and point to them.  Then, I took the book away and had ‘A’ remember the tools.  There were nine tools in all.  Of those, ‘A’ remembered: wrench, pliers, ruler, saw, hammer, and nails.

I then did the same with the page with the animals in Katy’s apron pockets.  There were 13 animals in all.  Of those, ‘A’ remembered: turtle, snail, frog, monkey, rabbit, opossum, skunk, squirrel.

Kindness and Gratitude

We talked about how being kind and grateful helps make the world a nicer place to live.  We also talked about how not everyone responds this way at all times, but when we are polite, our world is more pleasant.  We then practiced saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ with different scenarios.

Social Studies

We compared the difference between the city and the country.  We talked about buildings, people, and animals we might see at each place.  We also studies the city page in the book and looked at items you might not see in the country.

Numbers

We went through each page and counted the animals on each page.  I also introduced the concept of counting by 2’s.

I took this quiz for the boys, and a different quiz for myself.  I think the results are pretty accurate.  It is good to keep in mind when trying to introduce a new concept.

My result: You are a Visual Learner. You like to see things for yourself, read the directions, and study the diagrams. You learn well through reading, and seeing pictures, models, and visual demonstrations. You notice minute details and are fascinated by the intricacies of the world around you.

DH and 'A'/1B3: You are an Auditory Learner. You would rather be told what to do than be forced to read the directions. You memorize easily by hearing something over and over. You have (or can develop) a good sense of rhythm; you are likely a natural musician. You will retain printed information best if you read it aloud to yourself, even quietly.

'R'/2B2: You are a Kinesthetic Learner. You like to move. You feel blindfolded when you have to sit still at a table for hours. Anyone who calls you hyperactive, just doesnt understand that moving your large muscle groups helps your brain to process information. (Some people may have thought that you have a learning disability, but you probably just need extra time and space to move around and digest the facts.) You can learn best immediately after running laps around the backyard, doing chin-ups, or jumping rope, etc. because then your brain is fully activated and ready to receive information.

“Ant-ee Sara” made the boys these capes.  Isn't she the best?!

I got the boys up and out of the house early.  We drove to the Tacoma Scottish Highland Games.  I am so glad we went early!  It became too warm for the boys and we had to leave, but we were able to enjoy some of the festivities.

Here is ‘A’ asking the Scottish Military to show him their swords.  I am taking this picture while waiting in line to see the tartans from clans ‘Alexander’ and ‘Morrison’.

This is an event where the men throw a weight up in the air for height.

We also watched the Stone Toss.  I was not paying attention and hear ‘R’ yell, “I did it!”  I look behind and discovered that ‘R’ had thrown a large stone, straight at a dog and his owners.  Fortunately, they were gracious in accepting my apology.

There were many other field events, but it was too hot to stay and watch.

We went into a cabin and saw a row of women playing harps.  ‘A’ asked what the “things were that looked like harpsichords!”  We also watched someone turn wool into yarn, all the while enjoying a Scottish meat pie.  I bought the boys a couple of tin whistles.  Big mistake!  They are loud and every dog in the neighborhood is suffering.

Here are the boys indulging in a scone.

Early evening, we went on our friends boat for a swim and dinner.  Aren’t they a cute couple!  25 years of marriage!!

A picture of our family.  ‘R’ is wearing two hats to be silly!

I gave the boys some paper and marker to draw with.  ‘A’ (age 3) just handed me a page that had the letter ‘A’ written all over it!  He can write the letter ‘A’!

Should I encourage him to write additional letters in his own, or should I purchase a handwriting curriculum?  I was not planning on introducing handwriting for another year, but he is interested in it.  I also don’t want him to create bad habits we will have to break later.  What to do?

I just attended the Washington Homeschool Convention yesterday.  I attended two sessions. 

The first was to listen to the Sonlight rep.  I was able to get some of my questions answered and feel even more convinced that this would be a good choice for our family, when the time comes.

The second session was about using the community to help enhance your child's education.  It turned out to be not what I was expecting, but I did learn a couple things of interest:

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  I learned that 4H has a much broader organization that I thought.  They have activities for kids in the city, as well as diverse subjects, like forestry, environmental management, living skills, and youth leadership.
  
  
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  The Washington Museum Association has a brochure that contains a map of all the museums in Washington state.  The include all kinds…art, historical, cultural…

I spent the rest of the day in the resource fair.  Here are some of the items I purchased, or is of interest to me at this time:

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  Accountable Kids  I had a great talk with the owner and designer of this system.  I bought this for both the boys and look forward to getting sterted on it.
  
  
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  Heritage Makers  A way to document your special memories, stories, etc.
  
  
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  Camp at Home Her site is not up yet, but keep an eye on this one.  She provides special “summer camp” unit studies for the summer.
  
  
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  Doorposts  I have not purchased their charts yet, but plan to someday.
  
  
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  Power Glide Foreign Language It will by a few more years before we consider a foreign language, but I liked what they have to offer.
  
  
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  TEACH Magazine  Great magazine, and a terrific booth.  At this booth, I purchased the books, “Welcome Home, Daddy: traditional values for modern mothers” by Lorrie Flem, “Created to be His Help Meet” by Debbi Pearl, and a cookbook by Lorrie Flem.
  
  
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  Lastly, I purchased the great little set up that a mom made.  It is a flexible chalkboard (a fabric) that can be folded up and carried with you.  I bought one for each of the boys and look forward to using it in the car.