Hank the Cowdog Quote of the Day!

I've mentioned Hank in another post, but lately we've really been enjoying him. We've discovered the joy of listening to Hank on CD in the van as we travel around. It's so fun to hear what he gets himself into. If you've never read or heard Hank the Cowdog, then treat yourself to a great time. Hank is the Barney Fife of the ranch world and he is absolutely hilarious.

One of my favorite things about Hank is the dialogue the author uses. It's just so funny! So, I thought where is there a better place to share some of the ones I think are the funniest? Oh yes, my blog!

First, I have to catch you up on the ones I've already thought of. Then look for occasional entries on my Hank quote of the day. John Erickson, thanks for the gift of genius dialogue!

So far, my all time favorite-

"I burped dead fish all afternoon." When read the right way this one send my kids into peels of laughter.

Next-

"Every time my stomach chugged and filled the cab with that awful sandwich..." Also makes the kids laugh heartily.

This week-

"Heh, heh, y'all dogs are throwin' up sparks."

These are all read with the best Texan accent you can muster.

To be continued...

Summer Adventures!

Well after a few short weeks of "summer time", I quickly discovered that our children need some more structure to their day! All along I had planned for them to continue with math and reading practice. E reads voraciously so the challenge with him is to keep him in books. R has really begun to take off with her reading which has been so exciting to see. She's up to reading the Magic Tree House series- not bad for finishing first grade! But as the kids had more and more free time with the school year drawing to a close, it became very obvious that they need some more time being engaged in something otherwise this mama might never find the end to this summer!

Once again, the FIAR boards came to the rescue when a mom posted about her children's adventure boxes. I was so intrigued by the unit studies she had chosen for her kids. Usually we all study the same thing together. It's one of the things that makes a unit study so fun. We can all journey together. However, this woman pointed out that she wanted her kids to have the chance to pursue something that was of interest to them on their own. This got me thinking about what adventures my kids could embark on for the summer. I decided to give the kids some options for summer study based on what we already have on hand in our collection and what they are excited about learning. I figured I could add some things to the box that are new and fun for the kids to explore.

The results?

E- will be having a "Sporting" adventure this summer. He has been obsessed with sports and particularly Hokie football which he watches with his dad. So, his adventure box contains a sports history lap book, some sports stickers and foam pieces for crafts, and the Amanda Bennett unit study on baseball. He's very excited to begin. The baseball study will last four weeks and he will produce a notebook full of fun information, articles, team stats, among other things.

R- is going to be all things "Princess"! She has a princess kit full of crafts and a whole 10 weeks worth of reading to do on the topic using the Usborne Ten Terrific Weeks curriculum on princesses. How exciting for her to be reading these books on her own this year! So far I'm planning to start the new school year in the fall with the FIAR book Duchess Bakes a Cake and she'll be super ready to share her knowledge by then.

I- will be traveling through space and getting to know his beloved Star Wars a little more. He has many books on space and the planets "lined" up as well as sticker books on Star Wars and planets. Of course we found some other crafts using star shapes and foam!

J- will be doing some much loved reading with Mommy and some sticker books using words he knows. I'm still working on his box so this isn't the end product.

Each day we'll set aside some time to work on the adventures and we'll make sure to report in along the way!

Run, Marble, Run!

Wow has it been busy at our house for the past month and a half! We've been finishing up school, finishing up our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) year, going on vacation, and celebrating three of the kids' birthdays! In addition, we've been taking day trips and making doctor's appointments. Finally, it is June 23rd and we are seeing a light at the end of this busy tunnel!!

So, when my kids asked me the other day to play marbles I thought it was a great idea. Only, I wasn't in the mood to play a game of marbles. I have a special fondness for the marble run. We actually have two. One is magnetic and gets stuck to the wall or frig and configured to transport marbles. The other one can be built on the floor in a variety of different ways. I just love to get on the floor with the kids and build a huge run. In fact, while we were building this one I realized that we need more pieces! I wonder if I can squeeze that in on this year's school budget. With four kids, I need plenty of material for creativity. To really make this work, we need more stacking pieces.

Each child helped in some way to build this run and we all had a good time letting the marbles go from the top. My 8yo prefers to build and engineer a run more than he likes to see it in action. Once a good one is built and everyone is having a good time, he merely watches the marbles and will not hesitate to make changes to see the marble go a different way. Boy does this drive his siblings crazy! Mostly, they like to get lots of marbles going at once. I have to admit that is one of my favorite parts too. How many can get going at once to fill the tray at the bottom.

Our toddler thought this was GREAT fun! He likes to watch the marbles travel and he likes to impede progress- in many ways. He doesn't quite have the hang of the fact that a marble run is not to be used to help oneself up off the ground. He likes to reach through the middle to get run away marbles. So, of course, my job is to hold things steady and make sure toddler-zilla doesn't crash it to the ground. Another way he can stop progress is to stop the marbles in mid-zoom! I couldn't get him to stop messing with my loop-d-loop! He kept saying uh-oh to that piece I think because he couldn't see the marble being able to continue with a track that went upside down. He's pretty clever at noticing things like that.

So, what have you been doing with the kids this summer? I imagine we'll make some more marble runs. It's such a great family activity for us in our cool basement playroom/schoolroom. And I'll be sure to keep you posted on any additions to the collection we manage to secure. I mean, how can we achieve structural greatness without lots and lots of pieces??

Reading through the Presidents!

Part way through this school year I found an idea on the FIAR from a mom who has her kids "read through the Presidents." Knowing I have a fact hungry boy, I thought he might enjoy learning facts about the Presidents of the United States in order. I also wanted some more independent work for our third grader. Since then, he's been reading away! He reads two to three biographies for each President and works on choosing facts about each one. We call them "Five fast Facts" and he keeps a notebook to record what he has found. He's visited some cool websites like the one that shows each President's signature. He started with George Washington and made it through to William Henry Harrison by the end of the year.

We were so excited earlier this year when the first Presidential dollar coin was made available. Here E shows his collecting kit and we are sure to visit the bank for a newly minted coin in the first days they are released. Such excitement around the house!

We've found some fun information and coloring pages at the US Mint web site. Recently, I found a DK sticker book all about the Presidents! What a cool find for a homeschooling mom! These will come in handy for his notebook. In fact, I think he might just have to continue reading this summer.

Along with knowing who the Presidents were, this activity has been wonderful for providing extra reading and some knowledge of the chronology of US History. Study a presidency and you'll find out what was going on in America during that term or terms.

One of E's favorite book series is the "Childhood of Famous Americans" and there are so many presidential titles to choose from. I can't wait to see the finished product! I'll keep you posted.