Week #2

This was a busy week, and just proved why keeping the girls' schoolwork in backpacks is a good idea. Monday knocked me out with a migraine and I was happy to get them through math and language arts. On Tuesday the pain had lifted, leaving behind a foggy blur, but I had a growing to do list and we set off to get things done! The first item on the list was a doctor's apt. for Bear. Bug and Boo opened up their backpacks once we were in the examining room and got to work. Bug pulled out her reading book, and Boo decided to tackle math and just get it out of the way. They were quiet and I could focus on Bear and talk to her doctor without interruption. Next on the list was to fix the handle of one of my car doors and we were off to the dealer for a two hour repair. After some fun in the bounce house that the dealership had set up we headed inside and Bug got her math and DLR done while Boo finished up her math and Bear did her math, cutting, and alphabet game. We went straight from the dealer to Bear's speech therapy, and Bug and Boo did their science for the week while Bear met with her teacher. By the time we finally got home half of the day was gone, but so was half of the school work. I figured that was good enough for one day and they hung up their backpacks. :) Wednesday and Thursday were back to a regular school schedule (sleepovers both nights not withstanding), and I doubled up history for both days to make up for skipping it Monday and Tuesday.

Bug and Boo are learning about setting, and it's importance in the telling of a story, this month. Using a template from Evan Moor's How to Report on Books 3-4 they made file folder dioramas depicting the settings of books they read. They filled out a questionnaire about each book, explained the use of setting in the book, and glued the forms to the backs of the file folders.

Boo's first diorama was for Little House on Rocky Ridge. She glued mosaic tiles on the ground because it's very rocky. Then she painted the barn and house, cut a slit at the roof of the house, and put an orange piece of paper that can be slipped in and removed to show how the house was on fire, but then the fire was put out. She then decided to make the characters and put on a show depicting her favorite chapter of the book.





Boo wasn't so inspired for her second diorama, Magic Tree House: Buffalo Before Breakfast. Two sleepovers in a row will do that to you. :) It takes place on the plains, and after she had painted the brown, sun dried grass and big blue sky she was out of ideas. To make it interesting she decided to add the characters, and finally found some enjoyment in the project in molding the dog, Freddy, from moon sand.





Bug went all out with her first diorama, determined not be out done by her younger sister. She has been reading the American Girl series about Kaya. She made a tepee, the grassy ground, horses, water, trees, and then made the characters and put on a show of her own.








For her second book, Bug spent a lot of time on the waterfall and the platform the men used to catch the fish as they came over the falls. She then added Kaya and her friend sitting by the falls and that blue line is the river going around (not over!) them. She then gave herself the challenge of creating a tepee out of pipe cleaners, but didn't have enough. Undaunted, and inspired by Boo's creation of a dog for her diorama, Bug decided it was the perfect size for Kaya's dog.