someecards credit

Three letters can sum up this week so far.

VBS.

Need I say more? (grins)

The way I envisioned our field trip to Mount Vernon (the home of George Washington), may have been a little different than how the events of the day completely unfolded – but it was still a fabulous trip.

A beautiful day and four (mostly) behaving kids. Lots of friends along to wander the grounds, explore the various buildings, and learn more about a man who was instrumental in the shaping of our country.

And in case any of you were wondering, the alarms on the exhibits in the education center are working very well. And are very loud.

Well, at least the three that we managed to set off at various places in the center were working.

#askmehowweknow

That moment when you hear an alarm go off and are looking around trying to figure out who set it off – and then realize that everyone is staring in your direction. Yeah – that. Times THREE.

Just keeping it real, folks.

You apparently can’t even slightly TOUCH the railings in a wrong way – not the exhibit or anything in it – the RAILINGS. You would have thought we’d learn after the first one, but it took two more times until we high-tailed it out of the center and went for some wide open spaces.

Making History Fun

Truly though, there is a lot to do and learn at Mount Vernon. The staff  – fabulous help who try to make it fun and educational for the kids – provide scavenger hunt maps for the kids to search for clues all over the estate. There’s even a fun prize when the maps are completed (secret decoder pens for the older kids and a stamped penny for the younger ones).

George Washington’s final resting place

We toured the extensive gardens, visited Washington’s final resting place, walked through the house where George and Martha lived, visited the slave quarters, and took in the views of the Potomac from the back porch of the home. There’s just something absolutely amazing about walking through a huge piece of our American history – and imagining what it was like when Washington was actually there.

And (aside from screeching alarms) the education center was equally as fabulous – giving a glimpse into the details of Washington’s early life up through his sudden death. This week we’ll be working on some follow up history lessons thanks to the Mount Vernon website – they have some handy pre-visit and other go-along items for teachers to use. You can even take a virtual tour from your home, in case it’s too far to visit in person!

Quite honestly, it’s a place I’d love to visit again someday (shhh…with no kids) and soak in all the history and tidbits there are to offer.

Minus the alarms. 

Note: In our defense (in case anyone from the Mount Vernon staff is reading this), nothing  was touched, damaged, or otherwise compromised. (grins)

And p.s. – this post was in no way sponsored by Mount Vernon.

Three weeks down in our school year and we’re back into our full routine. So far, it’s been good with a little bit of attitude thrown in one day {grins}. Want a peek at how it’s going?

Everyone is loving the Picture Smart Bible so far. Kaleb is using the set of printables that are already filled in and having a wonderful time bossing telling the other kids the words that need to be filled in the blanks. The coloring – well, that’s enjoyed by all.

This past week we added history and science back into our weekly schedule. About two minutes into our Science 4 lesson on microscopes, I remembered that I was supposed to get batteries for said microscope last week. We only spent about fifteen minutes trying to find the mini screwdriver to open up the bottom {sigh – I love it when I forget to write things down}.

Kaleb is LOVING his Science 1 program. We’ve been talking about human development and the peanut gallery in the rest of the room is not always helping when they chime in with answers. While I am so glad that they remember the answers, sometimes it nice to hear the one who is supposed to be working on the lesson {big sigh}.

In history we’re learning about the War of the Roses and also Ferdinand and Isabella. Am I the only one that doesn’t remember much of this from my days in school? Makes me all the more determined to find ways for our kids to embed this info in their brains. {grins} Do you know what two houses fought during the War of the Roses and how it ended up being resolved?

That’s just a bit of what we’ve been learning. We’ve also working on handwriting, math, language, spelling, and reading. This week we’re pulling art into the mix – there’s a little first grader who keeps dropping the Home Art Studio DVD in front of me and begging.

All I have left to do is finish up a reading list for the girls that goes along with what we are studying in history. While I love that they are reading on their own, I really want to make sure that they are reading some quality books during the year in addition to the ‘fluff’ reading {please tell me I am not alone in this?}. On the same note, it reminds me that I need to pick up a few of those non-fiction books in my pile and put down some of the fluff reading I have next my bed too {grins}.

How is your year starting out? Are you back into your routine?

Be sure to stop by Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and join in her Weekly Wrap-Up post!

One of my favorite recipes for playdough is one that goes back to my days of being a preschool teacher – Koolaid Playdough. The scent and bright colors make it even more fun to play with.

The recipe itself can be pulled together in about ten minutes – even if you have little ones helping out! When we made the above batch of seven rainbow colors, it was right around $5 – so inexpensive and something fun to make.

This recipe also makes great gifts for others, so double up your batches and drop some off at your friend’s houses as well. We bring extras over every now and then to the grandparents too!

How to Make Koolaid Playdough

Want to make a few batches of your own? Here’s what you will need to pull together for each batch:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 envelope unsweetened Koolaid
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, Koolaid and water in medium saucepan. Stir in oil.

2. Mix over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until mixture forms a ball in the center of pan. Dough will start darkening in color.

3. Remove from pan {caution: will be HOT}. Knead until soft.

4. Store in airtight container or ziploc bag.

We used a variety of Koolaid flavors to make our batches. The lemonade was the only one that I added a few drops of food coloring to so that it would be a little brighter in color. Here’s a list of the flavors I used:

• fruit punch {red}
• orange {orange}
• lemonade {yellow}
• lemon-lime {green}
• berry blue {blue}
• grape {purple}
• pink lemonade {pink}

Time 4 Learning – combining technology with education to make learning fun for kids!