MonkeyMama

We studied the eruption of volcanoes a few weeks ago . . . here are some shots:

ready to go

adding the "lava"

watching with anticipation

explosion!

Recently we studied the art of Eric Carle, the children;s book author and illustrator.  This included reading his books, studying his techniques, creating hand painted papers as he did and finally an experience in collage making . . .

choosing his handmade papers

planning his collage

gluing

one of the finished products

I taught a sewing class to some gals in my homeschool group today and we had such a blast.  Teddy was so helpful--ironing and such.  He so wanted to be involved and his mommy was so preoccupied--but he stuck through it and was such a trouper!  No pictures, but he and I will be making our own bag together--will post pictures when we are done!

Some photos of a science experiment we did recently with celery and colored water . . . shows capillary action in plants . . .

setting everything up . . .

capillary action

red color clearly visible

little man with his project

Some photos from camp out in October . . .

first bb gun shot

shooting his first bow and arrow

reptile from animal show

Teddy and his grand master a few weeks ago after his orange belt test:

so proud!

We are in full swing now--pumpkins are in and we are volunteering almost everyday to help sell.  I think this kind of work for Teddy is so important.  He is learning how to give his time to help raise money for our church.  The coolest thing is that we go in the morning when it is typically slow and we can bring schoolwork with us.  So we sit outside in the glorious sun, reading and drawing and learning math as we sip our coffee amongst the pumpkins!  It is wonderful!
Next week Teddy will begin fencing.  He expressed an interest in starting and they had room for him.  He is very excited and I am anxious to see how he likes it.  Mondays will be quite full now, but I think it will be worth it.

We are in full swing here--fall is probably my favorite time of the year.  The pumpkins are coming to church this afternoon and volunteering at the pumpkin patch will commence.  (I think this is Teddy's most favorite thing to do in the fall!)  We have decorated the house for Halloween, which of course Teddy has been begging for since August.  But it is finally done and I must say it looks cute.  I finally finished some projects I started several years ago but never got done--very proud of myself!

So now there are cookies to be made, apples to be picked, acorns to be felted, silks to be dyed and other field trips to be taken.  (And kittens to be loved on!)  We plan on soaking up as much fall as possible (if the weather ever cooperates!)

As far as formal school, Teddy is doing great.  We continue with all the usual stuff--Explode the Code, Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading, The Story of the World.  Teddy's reading is progressing well and he is loving all the great books our friend Melissa and her kids got Teddy for his birthday.  We are now reading aloud The Adventures of Bobby Raccoon.

The Adventures of Bobby Raccoon (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)

Thornton W. Burgess

This past weekend I took Teddy on his first camping trip in a tent.  We slept in the woods.  We pottied in the woods.  We ate in the woods.  It was FABULOUS!  Teddy got to shoot a beebee gun and tried his hand at archery.  He loved the bow and arrow the best, I think.  I am hoping to get some photos loaded soon of the experience.  It is something we will be doing again very soon.