Soccer

It's Gavin's favorite week of the summer - soccer camp!  We haven't done much other then watch Gavin play soccer every day.  Today we went back to the state capital to try out their children's history programs.  The topic was Pony Express.  It was fun and we had a good time and then we looked at some of the Civil War displays again. 

One of Gavin's favorite things in the museum were the battle scenes they set up with little painted Civil War soldiers.  On our way back to the car we did some window shopping and found a toy store that sells the Civil War soldiers that Gavin liked so much in the museum (they're plastic but look like the old lead ones they use to make).  They were only $2/each so I told Gavin he could start earning money and next time we go down he can buy some with his money.  He's very excited to start collecting soldiers!

Here are some pictures of Gavin at soccer camp.

This week we have read:

The Lobster Quadrille by Lewis Carroll

The Cannery Bear by Ray St. Clair - about a bear that likes canned salmon and goes to work in a salmon canning factory

The Queen of the Orkney Islands by Laura E. Richards, a poem

Bertram and the Lion by Paul Gilbert - about a boy that wishes he had a pet lion and gets his wish, soon discovering it's not as great as he imagined



A Taste of Missouri

Yesterday the boys and I went to the state park to relax in the shade next to the creek.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.  There were a lot of blue and black dragonflies there and now Austin can say dragonfly.

Austin fell into the water so we had to take his shirt off.

Last night I took Gavin to the library because the local astronomy group was there to talk about why it's summer and then we went outside a looked at Saturn through a telescope.  It was really neat!  I thought it would be fun since Space is going to be our first science topic when we start kindergarten.

Today we took a family vacation to the state capitol.  First, we walked across the bridge that stretches over the Missouri River.

That's the capitol in the background in this next picture.

Then we went to the capitol grounds and looked at all the fountains and statues.  The boys enjoyed the sights.

Thomas Jefferson anyone?  I think this statue is a little menacing the way he's glowering down at you.

Gavin wasn't quite sure what to make of this one....part man, part horse, part fish?  The realist in him was reeling.

Cannons are always fun.

After touring the grounds we went inside and saw the exhibits.  I found out they have programs for children that would be a lot of fun.  Gavin really liked the museum which kind of surprised me at his age.  We went through the whole thing and he really enjoyed the Civil War exhibits but he also liked seeing the items people used for everyday life.  He said he wants to come back some time right after breakfast so we can spend more time looking next time.



Our Week

We have had a much needed quiet week here.  Here are some things we have been doing.

We have walked along the trail.  We saw this beautiful, big, yellow butterfly!

We also saw this bee!

Austin really likes to dance.  For some reason, he likes to dance with a hat of some sort on.  He's been dancing just about every day to Chopin (I finally put my foot down on the Mozart.  I like Mozart but every time I put in a different composer Gavin asks for Mozart.  I finally told him we had to listen to others as well).

We have spent most of our time outside.

We have even walked to the park.  Austin refuses to go down the slides this year.

Austin still loves looking at the bird book.  It's his favorite and he can identify a lot of the birds in it.  

Gavin decided he wanted to be a scientist and study ants so he broke open an ants nest to look inside.  They did have some sort of bug in there...it was kind of gross but Gavin enjoyed it and insisted he was learning.

We also have a family of frogs living in the kiddie pool.  We haven't been swimming because we hate to kick them out!

We are still reading "I Never Saw A Moor" by Emily Dickinson everyday.  This week we are reading "God's Little Boy is Content" in God's Wisdom for Little Boys.  The verse is Proverbs 14:30, "Peace of mind means a healthy body."

We are going through our short story book still.  It's called The Children's Hour: Caravan of Fun.  We have read:

Mrs Goose's Rubbers by Miriam Clark Potter (about a goose that didn't put her rain boots back where they belonged so she can't go to the market since it's raining),

The King's Wish by Edward Wade Devlin (about a king who's wish was to fly but then couldn't get down),

The Magic Fishbone by Charles Dickens (about a girl who got a magic fishbone),

The Huckabuck Family by Carl Sandburg (about a family who grew popcorn on a farm), 

A poem called "The Tillyheehee" by John Dukes McKee,

Mr Scrunch by Helen and Alf Evers (about an inventor who started making inventions for animals that didn't turn out so great),

Oscar the Trained Seal by Mabel Neikirk (about a seal that took a ride on a train),

The Magic Glass by Richard Hughes (about a little boy who found a glass and when he looked through it it turned people into toys and toys into people),

A poem called "The Ship of Rio" by Walter de la Mare (about a pirate ship run by monkeys) and

another poem called "A Legend of Lake Okeefinokee" by Laura Richards (about a mockingbird who plays a trick on a frog).



Bees

This morning Gavin completed his bee lapbook and he is done with our bee unit.  But first, Austin decided to be a wizard this morning.

Gavin finished the last couple items for his lapbook and put it together.  Then he put on some bee stickers to decorate his lapbook.

These pictures are backwards...sorry.  This is the back of his lapbook.  The top tab has a definition of pollination, 'As Busy as a Bee' has a list of things worker bees have to do, 'You Are What You Eat' has information about royal jelly.

This is the inside of his lapbook.  He labeled the parts of a bees, listed vocabulary words, wrote responsibilities of specific worker bees (they have different jobs throughout their lives) and did a life cycle wheel.

This is the same page.

This page is also on the inside.  It lists bee facts, hive facts and bee predators.

This is the same page.

This is the front of his lapbook.

And here is Gavin giving his best grin.