This one was full of special as we learned this week.
This has been a week! Busy, fulfilling, entertaining, and rewarding. All the things one could ask for in a week that leaves me exhausted and exhilarated. There was plenty of playing, numerous activities and projects, so many Easter books, a lot of Googling during homeschool, and a big milestone. Take a look:
This one cannot understand why he also can't play with the toys by chewing on them. He was really sorry...and then right back to "playing" with his friends.
Daycare Easter fun arrived, along with Easter basket goodies and new clothes. The dog also went crazy thinking it was all for him, thanks to his bi-weekly Chewy deliveries. He was really disappointed when I opened the boxes and bags and there were no bones.
We had a Monday evening treat. You can read about why we got it here.
Peeps play dough was a hit this week! Find out how we made it here.
No, this isn't art class, it's their science test! Their test was to build/make a flower with ALL of the reproductive parts, then tell me the parts and how it all works. The almost 9 year old is oddly knowledgeable about flower reproductive and easily aced the test for all of them.
At the end of their test, they added a butterfly and explained to me why pollination is important and required for reproduction of plants. I was impressed. I didn't ask them to do this extra work. Then, the youngest showed me a box she had put together during their test (they were in the basement homeschool room and I was up in the daycare room while they worked). She put together a pollinator box and told me ALL about the pollinators, how everything happens, etc. I'm convinced she understands it better than I do!
The boys spend a good amount of time each week in the kitchen. This week it was smoothies, milk shakes, juices, etc. Sometimes I'm astonished at how messy my kitchen is when they're done, but I can't complain much. I get so many yummy foods and treats!
The oldest was looking through Facebook with me and came across a recipe he want me to make. It was hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, peppers, onions baked in the oven. Despite it being the oldest who requested it, the middle mini was the one who LOVED it. The daycare kiddos eat just about anything, so I wasn't surprised that they enjoyed it too.
I enjoy trying different egg dying techniques each Easter season. This year, we gave tissue paper dyed eggs a try. The eggs turned out okay-ish. The blue and blue/red combo turned out great. The yellow, green, and red/yellow combos were so faint that we REALLY had to look hard at those eggs! If you're giving this a try, make sure to get the non-waxy, bleeding tissue paper. I can't imagine trying this with waxy tissue paper.
Thursday was pizza day apparently. We tried Truman's eggs benedict pizza for breakfast (highly recommend) and Pyra Pizza for dinner. Bubble teas were for dessert.
The kids loved their stand-up Easter bunny's. I was told a few kids took them home and played with them.
"I made a hot air balloon! How does it work?" Then, we watched a video on hot air balloons.
I looked over and had to get a picture of what I saw. A child trying to hang the doll from the hook, first by the eye then by the feet. I guess we're ignoring the baby face down on the ground. The whole scene had me cracking up!
The oldest started The Hunger Games series and read A LOT this week. He proudly announced how many pages he read in just four days (nearly the entire first book) and the middle mini realized HE didn't read as many pages as his big brother. So, Friday became a competition of how much they could read by the end of the week. I didn't say a word and let them have this competition!
Tragedy struck Friday morning: the bigs had gym class without the dog. His cries and barks were so loud that a neighbor down the street texted to check on us. The kids have loved watching the NCAA tournament so much! They requested to play basketball and learn all the rules. Now I'm brushing up on all those rules because it's been a loooonnnnggg time since my 8th grade basketball season.
The big milestone of the week: we finished the school year's science curriculum! Social studies is soon to follow, as well as grammar (they will be doing reading/literature, math, and writing throughout the summer). Now, they very well could be completely done with science for the rest of the school year, but my minis LOVE to learn. Instead, they made a list of everything they want to learn/study once their done with their required curriculum. Some of this is moving on to the next grade level, some of it is studying things not in their curriculum, and a few others are things I think they would benefit from learning. I am so proud of them, us, and myself. Homeschooling has been an amazing experience this year.
Earlier in the week, the kids colored these Easter cut outs. While they napped, I taped them all around the room so we could have a neverending Easter Find It game going on. Next week, their goal will be to find all 6 of the chicks, 13 eggs, and 4 bunnies hidden throughout the daycare room.
Next week will be Easter themed, with an emphasis on Passover and the Sedar Plate on Friday (the day before Passover begins). I'm thrilled to have sunshine next week, so we'll be able to spend plenty of time outdoors!