Little Simon was too sleepy to pick a pumpkin

Yesterday, we went to the Pumpkin Patch.   It was so much FUN and the best patch we have ever been to!    We did so many things, I don't know if I can remember everything, but I'll try--

Played tons of games--
Pin the nose on the Pumpkin
Bean Bag Toss
Bowling with Milk Jugs
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Found (and hid) mini pumpkins in a wooded area

Other activities--
Listened to stories from a LIVE scarecrow!
Ate a pumpkin bar snack
Went on a tractor hayride!
Stuffed/made a scarecrow
Went through a hay maze complete with a slide
Petted goats and watched donkeys
Jumped in a giant pumpkin with lots of orange balloons
Stood around a bonfire to WARM up!
Picked out a pumpkin (of course)

Stuffing a Scarecrow with Friends

Hayride!

At co-op we compared the past with the present (clothesline vs. clothes dryer, indoor plumbing vs. outhouse, lightbulb vs. candle, etc.).  Then we played games from the past. 

We played
French and English (tug-o-war)
Puss, Puss in the Corner
Hide and Seek (a game similar to hot/cold-- only you yell "you burn!" and "you freeze!"  depending on how far someone is from the hidden object)
Potato Sack Race
Marbles (Elijah's favorite!)

We studied the following science topics at home--

*Dogs (Enchanted Learning + some go-along books -- Our Puppies are Growing, Usborne Dogs and Puppies)
*Shadows (Read Let's Read and Find Out Science-- What Makes a Shadow)- we made handshadows on the wall at night-- even dad joined in!
*Tornados (Read LRFOS Tornado Alert! and made a "tornado" with our tornado tube and two 2-liter bottles-- we were able to see what a vortex is and how it works)

For our field trip, we went to Conner Prairie and participated in a program called "Churning Up Chores"

We churned butter, dipped candles, and made *delicious* cornbread on an open fire by covering the pan with coals!  (See pictures below).  When we got home from CP, we tried making butter with some heavy cream in the stand mixer; we did it!  It was really cool to actually watch the cream undergo the various transformations as it turned to butter and to see all the milk left over. 

Our guide, Gladys, shows us how to churn butter.  It's quite a work-out!  It took all five moms plus all ten children to churn the butter (and 90 minutes worth of work!)

Elijah dips a candle

Elijah helps make the cornbread

These are from our second field trip.   After spending a week on Make Way for Ducklings, our co-op visited IWU's Ron Mazellan (who is an illustrator and has illustrated children's books including The Harmonica). 

Mr. Mazellan taught our students about perspective using images from the movie, Ice Age.  Each student was encouraged to draw a picture of the squirrel from the movie, too (see picture of Elijah drawing above).  They were taught to draw by recognizing the different shapes in the animal and simply drawing those shapes; the kids did really well.  Also included in this art lesson was some basics on how to draw shadows and some hands-on experience with real clay.

Who can draw? We can!!!

We had a few families sick today and had to switch host homes a few times, but we still had a great time and learned a lot together. 

The educational focus was on nocturnal animals (Papa Piccolo went out at night); we learned all about different animals that come out at night.  The leader of this activity gave each child a different coloring page and told them to stand up when they heard the right animal sound.  She then played different animal sounds and when the child stood up, she read a bit more information about that nocturnal animal.  We learned that cats (usually not house cats), lions, frogs, skunks, raccoons, hippos, some snakes, bats, and owls (and others!) are nocturnal. 

For our fun activity, we made cat masks complete with pipe cleaner whiskers, button noses, and google-eyes (for those who wanted them).  Elijah loves his cat mask and named him Caesar after the cat in the story. 

When we got home, we read Night Animals (Usborne) and Where Are the Night Animals? (Let’s Read and Find Out Science) to learn even more about nocturnal animals. 

Today our co-op started our week off with a bang for Rechenka's Eggs!    What a great story!  We discussed miracles before we read it.

For our educational activities:

1.  We learned about all the different groups of animals that lay eggs (reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds).  Then, we took a fun quiz to see if we knew which animal went in each group.  We numbered our papers 1-15...then, the leader passed around numbered eggs.  Elijah LOVED opening each egg to find the little animal inside.  Once he opened it, he had to write R, A, I, or B on his quiz sheet next to the appropriate number depending on which classification the animal went in (Reptile, Amphibian, Insect, or Bird).   I was so proud of him!  He did all the handwriting with no help from me! :) 
2. Each child was given a hard-boiled egg to dissect.  We learned the different parts of the egg (outer membrane, inner membrane, yolk, air pocket, albumen)...of course, everyone ate their science lesson when finished!

For our fun activities:

1. Children teamed up to play tic-tac-toe using animals that lay eggs instead of x's and o's.  So, we had the birds vs. the reptiles, etc.  :)

2. Tried to stand eggs up on end

3. Decorated eggs

4. Had an egg relay race outside

5. Ate Jell-O Jiggler Eggs

It was a busy, busy and beautiful day!  :)  The kids were able to play together outside after co-op was over.  We're looking forward to our field trip next week!

Today we went with our co-op to a Botanical Conservatory.  We were greeted by a talking tree that sang “we love trees!” and told us other tree-ish information.  There was a pretend vegetable garden for the kids to play in and an area about spring.  We read a story about spring then made paper flowers and stamped spring stuff mentioned in the story (a bunny, butterfly, bee, flower, etc.).  After visiting the Signs of Spring center, we moved on to the indoor gardens. 

As we toured the gardens, we became plant private eyes using our magnifying glasses to try and find different things in each garden.  Some of the things we looked for were—three different colors of flowers, a flower that smelled good, a leaf smaller than a finger nail, a shiny leaf, a root in the air, and a fuzzy leaf.   We were amazed at God’s creation as we saw the contrast and variety in the desert garden and the tropical garden!  How many wonderful, different things He has made!

I think the biggest hit was the worm tunnel; the kids got to crawl through the underground seeing life from a worm's perspective (and it ended with a slide!).  There was also a Farmer’s Market to play in complete with cash register and many other hands-on exhibits for the kids. 

It was a great day, and Elijah loved the "big garden place"   :)  

Oh, I *love* this book!  I knew I couldn't assign myself for the reading of it as I would have blubbered through the entire text.   Why does a children's book make me bawl like a baby?  Maybe because I'm from a long line of gardeners.  My mom is a master flower gardener.  My mom's mom (at 74) has beautiful flower gardens and the largest tomato garden I've ever seen with cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers sprinkled in.  My mom's grandmother (at 97) has flowers in her garden, too.  Gardens have meant survival for my ancestors, and I'm very aware of it.  My roots (from both sides of my family) are truly found in the dirt of a garden.   This book also brings on the tears because of the Depression-era setting...and Lydia Grace is just about the most lovable character one could ever meet; she even writes her never smiling uncle a poem for Christmas...and poetry is yet another subject near and dear to my heart.    Anyway, on to what we did at co-op! 

For our educational activity we learned about seeds and bulbs.  Lydia Grace takes seeds with her on the train and receives bulbs for Christmas.  We discussed the three very basic parts of a bean seed (seed coat, embryo, and food source); we also looked at the scar on the bean and compared it to our belly buttons.  We then "dissected" the seeds (they had been soaked in water) by taking the seed coats off and finding the baby plant (embryo).   We had an up-close and personal look at bulbs, too-- taking the papery wrapper off and looking at the scales of an onion bulb; we also observed the bud and roots.   Each child was given some seeds/bulbs to take home to experiment with along with some flower sequence cards and a plant growth chart.

Our fun activity was reallllly fun!  I think it was Elijah's favorite activity of the year.  We created candy flower gardens using paper cups, styrofoam, grass (you could use Easter grass), popsicle sticks, fun foam shapes, Hershey Kisses, and various lollipops.    First, we took a piece of styrofoam (no clue how to spell that one!) and shoved it in the bottom of the cup.  Next, we decorated our cups then we made flowers out of the heart fun-foam shapes (glued them to the popsicle sticks) and glued a Kiss to each heart.  While the heart flowers were drying, we poked lollipops into the styrofoam piece and added Easter grass on top.  Eventually, we added the kiss-pop-flowers.  It was a sweet project for the kids to complete.  Elijah was proud when he was finished. 

P.S. You can find free lessons for The Gardener at www.homeschoolshare.com