Just a Spoonful of Sugar

I'm in a new town at a new school, but I'm still using my creativity for some fun new activities. My literature group just finished reading the charming book Mary Poppins and we had our own little tea party to celebrate. Here are the pictures from the day!

Of course, there had to be decorations...

 ...and a cake!

We did some Mary Poppins crafts...

British tea parties sure are delicious!

Pet Day

For the last full week of school, I decided to go a little lighter on the school work and give the kids some fun projects and activities related to animals. They also requested pet day again this year. 

They started by making habitat dioramas and 3-D animals, and exploring animal books. 

Then came pet day. I love seeing the kids show off their animals and seeing the other students love them and enjoy time with them. We visited with goats, hermit crabs, a rabbit, and several dogs. We had a blast!

Light it Up

In our study of electricity, we've worked with circuits and experimented with making electricity. the kids worked together to make series and parallel circuits. They also tested insulators and conductors, created static electricity, and experimented with snap circuits. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Last week, we took a quick trip down the road to the recycling center to see what happens when we throw our recycling away. One of the service projects we're doing to help our school is to be responsible for recycling. It was neat to see where all our efforts are going. 

The trucks were out moving around the materials that go to another facility.

There were piles of recycled TVs and workers were separating cardboard in the background.

This was a giant pile of cardboard that would be re-purposed nearby.

We got to see the bailer and piles of cardboard bails.

We learned a lot about how to recycling.

1. Break down cardboard.

2. Don't break or smash electronics.

3. Put sawdust or kitty litter in paint to dry it out.

4. Put batteries in individual baggies so they don't start fires.

5. Don't tape fluorescent lights together or break them.

6. Don't put recycling in plastic bags.

Wonderworks Field Trip

We had a great time at Wonderworks on our last big field trip of the year. There were a lot of informational science activities, but mostly the kids had fun experiencing science in action. I didn't get any pictures of it, but everyone's favorite part was the 4D movie theater and the virtual roller coaster. We also balanced on the ropes course, danced in the light rooms, and made giant bubbles. We had a blast, but were exhausted by the time we headed home. 

 The kids experienced hurricane force winds.

 They held their hands in freezing water. 

 They got to find their house on Google Earth.

 This was a cool speed of light game.

 Here's one of the girls laying on a bed of nails.

We could see how hot or cold we were with thermal imaging.

They got to spin in a giant gyroscope.

The music zone was pretty cool, too.

Easter

As we rejoice in our Savior's resurrection, we celebrated Eater in some new and traditional ways. We read two Patricia Polacco books and looked at the traditional Ukranian eggs called Pysanky eggs. We also tried the Ukranian break Paska. 

Then the kids tried their hands at coloring and dyeing their own eggs.

Inspired by the book, they first draw outlines on the eggs with crayons. 

Then they got creative by dipping the eggs in a variety of colored dyes.

 

The finished products were so creative!

We also had a special guest come in and bring her chickens for the kids to pet and learn about. 

What a great way to celebrate Easter and Spring!