Yesterday Gavin and I talked about the principle, 'Push pushes back with equal force'.  Gavin tried to push the couch with his toes touching the bottom of the side.  He soon realized he had to put his feet back as leverage to push the couch.  Then we talked about how leverage helps us generate more force and how simple machines, such as a lever, can help generate more force as well.  Here he is trying to push the couch:

We used this science kit to see if it's really easier to use a lever.

These are the books we read.

This book wasn't quite so relevant but it was interesting because it showed how a family uses force to do things throughout the day on a farm.

Austin and Adelaide were happily playing in her room until she saw me!

She enjoys pulling toys out of the door of the little acorn house.

Here is Adelaide today chewing on a maraca.

Gavin traced Australia from our atlas today (we forgot to do it last week)!  We researched to find the temperature in Australia.  I let him pick the city and he picked Adelaide, Australia.  It's 66 and sunny there today.  We also found out that they have great weather all year round!  Then the boys watched a documentary about Australian animals and terrain on Hulu.  Gavin is in pajamas today.  It was pajama day at Austin's school so Gavin declared it pajama day for us too!  Austin changed in to clothes as soon as he got home (we wasn't too happy to go to school in pajamas) but Gavin stayed in them until it was time for Awanas.

We read some books about traveling on a wagon train.  Then we made this awesome covered wagon I got from this blog: http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2010/06/covered-wagon.html

All I had to get was brown posterboard, everything else we had around the house.

Here are the books we read today.

We also read a book called "The American West" by Leslie Waller.  It was published in 1966 but I couldn't find a picture anywhere!

Gavin is about 3/4 through with Little House in the Big Woods.  I thought he would need some help with it but he's been reading it no problem.  He is going faster than I thought he would because he's reading it in his free time too!  I only make him read 15 minutes during 'school' time.

We have been reading this book before bedtime.