Reptiles, Mummies, and Cooking

I haven't blogged in a while, so here is what we've been up to for the past two weeks.

 

Reptile Museum

I found a Groupon for over half off a visit to a local reptile museum.  I figured that a $12 (total) visit for myself, the kids, and my dad was worth a shot.  We researched reptiles in our children's encyclopedias so they would know what to look for when we arrived.  Even if the trip was a bust, we were in Ann Arbor with plenty of back up opportunities. 

The museum was so much better than I anticipated.  From the outside, the building looked rather small, but once we were in we saw that they really took advantage of the space.  The kids loved looking at lizards, skinks, turtles, iguanas, giant tortoises, macaws, a tarantula, and even the largest, nastiest cockroaches imaginable.  It was totally worth our $12 and I'm hoping we can go back with a group for a field trip. 

 



 

Luke's reptile picture

Science and History Fun
Luke decided to learn about Egypt this week.  It wasn't in our plans, but we went with it.  We watched a few YouTube videos about the pyramids and about archeologists finding artifacts from the Israelites period in Egypt.  We also started an experiment to see how and why Egyptians dried out bodies as part of the mummification process.  I cut an apple into six slices and each slice was prepared differently.  We're going to see which processes work the best. 


plain (wrapped and unwrapped), salt (wrapped and unwrapped), baking soda and salt (wrapped and unwrapped)

 

Ben insisted on tasting the salt.

Some Extra Highlights
I debated for awhile on how to approach MLK Jr. Day.  Luke is young enough to be unaware of race, however, our curriculum has always encouraged parents to not just educate children on how to add or how to read, but also how to navigate the world around them and to be aware of issues past and present, near and far.  We actually very lightly discussed World War II earlier in the year when reading the book, "Twenty and Ten", so I thought he could handle discussing segregation.  We watched a few YouTube videos geared toward kids and discussed King's famous quote, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." 

We've been working through Luke's math curriculum and are finally halfway through this year's curriculum.  We've devoted a substantial amount of time to memorizing his addition facts and making sure they are cemented in his brain.  I bought a game called "Shut the Box" that he loves and is helping his speed when doing his flashcards.  He is getting really close to his goal of doing 76 flashcards in less than fiveminutes and I've promised him that he and I will celebrate with a big treat when he can do them in less that four minutes.

Luke also started taking piano lessons with me.  We're able to do three 10 minute lessons each week instead of one 30 minute lesson which works well for the attention span of a six year old boy. 


Cooking Class
I'm trying to remember to teach cooking skills to the boys throughout the week.  Even though it adds extra time and exercises my patience, these skills are useful and will come in handy for both the kids and me as they get older.

(Heavily supervised) Luke is learning to cut carrots for our stew.  He was so proud of himself and pointed out during dinner that the chunky carrots he cut tasted the best.

Ben loves to peel carrots. 

Making scrambled eggs

Making roasted potatoes

The boys worked together to make breaded chicken fingers.

Ben School
Ben has now had two gymnastics classes and he absolutely loves it.  He has a great build for the sport and really enjoys having something that is completely his.


Doesn't he look proud?

Practicing handstands

We completed R is for Rabbit and S is for Snake.