unschooling

Tuesday

There was some coolmathgames.com time and then an episode of Wildcratts exploring Dolphin language and then, of course, legos.

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I offered to help them start Gavin’s new crystal growing kit, but they wanted to play with legos first so I instead snaked our bathroom sink.  I despise plumbing but still prefer to do it myself instead of paying someone if possible.  This particular problem only took about twenty minutes of effort and now the sink is working well again so I’m feeling pleased.

They decided to work on some beading… taking apart some old necklaces and making new things.

We opened a packet of Pop Rocks and sprinkled them in a cup of water; watched them bubble and pop and dissolve.  The kids didn’t want to eat them but were fascinated to watch and listen to them release their gasses.  We talked about carbon dioxide gas and then we ended up talking about the artificial coloring in the water from the candy and how there are natural sources of color for foods too.

Gavin taught Lilah how to play Battleship with Chris’ old set.  “Tell me if F-6 is a hit and then put a red peg on the ship if it is.”

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I went to the store to get some supplies for lasagna and some non-residue shampoo for me while the kids played Harry Potter Chess/legos/maze making.

When I got home they were ready to work on the crystal growing kit so Gavin read the instructions, measured out the water and stirred the crystal powder to dissolve it.

He placed the rocks and I poured it over them.  Then we examined it closely.

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Then he had to read the clock and figure out what time it would be in an hour when he is supposed to sprinkle an additional pinch of crystal powder on each rock.  It took him a bit, but he got it.

They played some more Chess, this time with the Harry Potter Chess set, while they waited for the second phase of crystal preparation.

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After that they worked on some more window art painting.

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And then Lilah requested I read some more of Madame Pamplemousse to them before dinner and bed and snuggles and singing.

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unschooling

Monday

They played on coolmathgames.com.

Then we worked on necklaces with beads Lilah got for her birthday.  They discussed knot making, how long string needed to be, where the beads came from and what they were made of.

Legos were built with and Magformers were put together.

We did some Spanish practice together.

The new glowing birthday Wikkistix/Bendaroos were brought out and they made shapes on the provided cards and then made shoes for their ponies.  Then we took them in the dark bedroom with a black light to see if they would glow.

Then Lilah and I headed off to pick up her friend to come play here.  We braved the pouring rain and even some hail and the girls loved the excitement of it being a challenge to get from school to the car.  At home, there was dress up, lego play, more magformers building, especially building homes and vehicles for stuffed animals.

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There was story telling and Goldieblox building.

After saying goodbye to Lilah’s friend and dinner, there was tag in the living room and beginning discussions about halloween costume plans.  Lilah has requested a butterfly costume, like last year, but a different species.  Gavin wants to be a lego minifig.  He’s not sure what kind yet.  We have some research to do, some materials to gather and some creative assembly to do together in the next weeks!  How exciting!

 

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