Mardi Gras Celebration

The week before vacation ended on a quiet note. We wrapped up some reading assessments and math practice. During vacation, we were able to attend the Bangor Public Library's Mardi Gras Celebration.
http://www.wabi.tv/news/27843/kids-celebrate-mardi-gras-at-bangor-public-library
The mask making and parade was a lot of fun for area children. We spent the time reminiscing about our trip to New Orleans in 2010. It was a short trip, next time we hope to stay longer. Visiting the French Quarter and the mighty Mississippi River was wonderful.

This week we begin our Eve Bunting Author Study. We visited the Belfast Library and chose books to compare and contrast the topics of United States History, Contemporary Situations, Animals, Plants, American Symbols, Holidays and Family. We will be viewing these topics through literary elements. I am using a lot of resources found on the internet to supplement this unit.

Valentine Exchange

 We made heart shaped crayons for the Valentine's Day exchange. The crayons were accompanied by a baggie of candy. This was a great way to use up crayon pieces. After completing most of the crayons, we found some science experiments regarding the melt time of various crayons. I wish that I had thought of that so that we could have completed a Scientific Experiment record. We used about three different types of crayons. Oh well, maybe in the future.

Learning about plants

On Friday, we attended the Wild Plants of Maine discussion at the Camden Public Library. Sponsored by HOME http://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=articles.view&id=13942
We learned about local edible plants from Tom Seymour and watched his slide show of these plants. He also discussed when during the growing season, we would find many of these plants. Tom Seymour has his own blog. It is definitely an interesting and informative read. Check it out here: http://wildplantsandwoolybears.blogspot.com/
While at the event, we signed up to participate in the HOME Home Grown Gardens activity. Information is here: http://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=articles.view&id=8172
I included many links in this post so that I could give everyone accurate credit.

We have looked at our seeds and have been planning our garden. We may possibly try to sow some seeds early.

Author Study

We will begin an author study next week on Eve Bunting. The author choice came from The MAILBOX Bookbag http://www.theeducationcenter.com/tec/afc/home/go.do circa 1998. I have a lot of teacher resources and have used them repeatedly throughout the years. As it happened, I was looking through this resource while my daughter was reading Eve Bunting's Smoky Night.

Smoky Night(Paperback)

by Eve Bunting, David Diaz

This piqued her interest and now we are off to our library again, I said that it is invaluable to me as a Homeschooling Mom, to search for more Eve Bunting books.

 

Planning for her upcoming Homeschoolers Project Fair has begun. Since this will be our first time at a Project Fair, many ideas are swirling around. Thankfully the fair isn't until April, so we should have plenty of time to decide. So far she has discussed performing a dance, a play, researching animals, or maybe erupting a volcano. I guess time will tell what she will focus on...

Take Your Child to the Library

We visited our local library before dance class on "Take Your Child to the Library" Day.