Graduate!

Mr. Intensity graduated from kindergarten this morning. I like to think that he was at the top of his class...at least in height. :) He was really excited - I think it was mostly because the teacher promised cake after the ceremony.

At one point in their presentation, the teacher went to each child with the microphone. They were to say one thing they learned this year. Mr. Intensity said his name then, "I learned about Socrates, Aristotle and Plato." I'm one proud momma.
Below he's posing with his teachers: Miss Cori and Mrs. Anne.

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Standing in the toy aisle, he was deliberating how to spend $3. It was burning a hole in his pocket. I was more than ready to go.

The sidewalk chalk caught his eye. Not sure why, but I convinced him to forgo it and we could make some at home. He was excited at the idea but that meant longer in the store for me. Why do I suggest such things?! :)

Once home, we searched the internet for a recipe. Basically, just use equal parts corn starch and water then add food coloring and stir like mad. If you start with the cornstarch in the cup first, it will come together easier.

He did all the measuring and most of the stirring. Granted he made a bigger mess than if I'd done it for him but it wasn't that big of deal to swipe the counter with a sponge and call it a day. As he added the colors we did a quick review of primary and secondary colors. I'm always surprised at how well he remembers.

The weather has been gorgeous lately and these five colors occupied him for quite a while.

Welcome to everyone - except those who steal trucks.

Fun with Geography

Aimee, from Adventures and Pursuits, is organizing The Great American Postcard Swap. Each week we receive a postcard from a different state and this is Arkansas' week!

Fun facts about Arkansas:

- only diamond producing state.

- almost half of America's rice is grown here. Other top agriculture endeavors: chicken, soybeans, cattle and cotton.

- home of largest bauxite deposits in US. Bauxite is a mineral used to make aluminum cans and foil.

- headquarters for Wal-Mart, Heifer International, Clinton Presidential Library, Tyson, FamilyLife.

- belonged to Spain then France before obtaining statehood. The four blue stars on the flag symbolize the nations that have ruled Arkansas: Spain, France, United States and the Confederacy. The twenty-five white stars represent that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth state to be admitted to the Union.

-places of interest:

* Historic Hot Springs and Oaklawn which is a horse track that hosts one of the prep-races for the Kentucky Derby;

* fly-fishing on the Little Red River;

* historic Little Rock Central High, where a battle for race integration was fought in 1957.

GIVEAWAY (Jessica won!)

Leave a comment stating the state from which you're typing (make sure to leave your email, if you're not a blogger). Wednesday I'll randomly choose a winner for a couple of educational DVDs about Arkansas that were produced by the Secretary of State's office. If you don't win, check out this website designed for kids to learn about Arkansas. We especially liked the activity book and printed several pages.

There are still states needed for other swaps, if you are interested in participating. You don't have to have a blog to join the swap. It has been great fun so far. Mr. Intensity delights checking the mail for his fun postcard for the week. Through the Secretary of State's office we obtained 50 free postcards.

Math Game with Dice & Other Resources

This game is a variation of a game I saw on Itty Bitty Love. We played the simpler version last week; he loved it so I figured he'd love it even more with two dice.

I thought he would stop after a number "won" or made it to the bottom row but he was so excited he played almost to the end. Not enough snake eyes to keep his interest. :)

At the bottom of the column, he wrote the "winner" and circled the number. You'll see that sevens won first place and threes came in second.
Other resources used today -

History

This video explaining Hanukkah and the Maccabean Revolt.

Montessori for Everyone's visual explanation of the transition from BC to AD.

Geography

A map of Egypt, of Africa, and of the world.

Science

We began the discussion on metamorphosis, complete and incomplete, and will get to these resources later in the week.

-Complete metamorphosis: egg to larva, pupa to adult, like the butterfly life cycle - make sure to also print the Can You Find It? pages. Thanks for the free resource, Jojoebi!

-Incomplete metamorphosis [Hubby, the flyfisherman, is most excited about this one] is egg to nymph, straight to adult. Wonderful 4-H website

Quick Reference Guide to Aquatic Invertebrates

Matching cards

Insects with incomplete or gradual metamorphosis; immature forms are nymphs
Dragonfly and Damsel fly	Belong to the order Odonata.
Stonefly	Belongs to the order Plecoptera.
Mayfly	Belongs to the order Ephemoeroptera.
Bugs	Belong to the order Hemiptera. Water boatman, water strider, water scorpion, giant water bug

Not sure who's learning more: me or Mr. Intensity! After all,

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

More Songs for Classical Education

Five Kingdoms in Classification System

to the tune of Are You Sleeping?

Kingdom Anamalia

to the tune of Hush Little Baby

Prepositions

to the tune of Found a Peanut

Major Bones of the Body
to the tune of London Bridge

Super Fun Snack

I won all kinds of "Cool Mom" awards with this.

Though the skewer isn't necessary it definitely resembles a spear and aids in creative play.

Above is a ship from Star Wars.

HT: Homeschool Creations via Reprehiestless Warillever's shared item in Google Reader.

Handwriting Without Tears

Last week I bought a new notebook for Mr. Intensity, with hopes that it would inspire him to write more. Or, should I say, for me to concentrate on helping him learn to write better?

Nonetheless, the new notebook - designed with drawing room - was presented this morning. With great enthusiasm he began, loving the plot of the story. However it was too long for our first attempt at copy work. I think he was frustrated because we haven't really worked on lowercase letters, so we shortened the story to one sentence.

Then I got up from the table to flitter around the house, trying to tidy up from being gone for 10 days. He kept asking me to spell words. When I finally came to my senses, I realized he was writing his own story!
Over a year ago, I bought a kit which included the groovin' CD and wooden pieces for letters. I love the Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum and highly recommend it.

Short Vowel Word Game

Thanks to itty bitty love, we played a new game today.  Who lives in the house?

Quickly I free handed a house and he couldn't understand why I didn't make it on the computer.  Somethings are faster by hand - believe it or not!  :)

He ate it up!

He loved making "books" to go along with the words, many of which were new vocabulary.

"What is a rut, Momma?"

It's like when you can't stop rhyming or singing a silly song.  A rut can also be when you ride your bike through the mud.  What does the bike leave behind?

He put the remains in a plastic bag.

If you'd like to use the document I made, download it here. It's nothing fancy but it will save you a few minutes.


This will probably be something we'll repeat in the future with more challenging words.

Loving Learning

Below: sun bleached construction paper. I think any kind will do. Ours was a cheap-o brand.  It was in direct sun for about 2 hours or less.
Below: popsicle puzzle
He completed it, but I think 7 sticks was a bit challenging.
So, I quickly made another with five sticks.

Butterfly Grid

Our caterpillars turned to chrysalides earlier this week.  Anticipating their emergence, Mr. Intensity enjoyed this number grid / coloring page. I introduced it as, "This game is sort of like Battleship."  He was hooked.  I didn't tell him the shape or what he would be coloring.  

He was diligent for about 5 minutes then decided to take a break.  On his own initiative, he completed it in the afternoon.

Hat Tip: Thanks, Shannon!