We haven't had much snowfall this year, which is a bummer and a blessing after last year! We did have just enough to go snowboarding one week before co-op.

J & C also joined a cooking based nutrition program. They focus on the importance of nutrition, healthy eating, and the basics of cooking and food safety. They also come home every week with new ingredients to try their recipes out at home. 

We continue to make weekly trips to the library. We are learning about China right now and took out many books about it last week!

We are working on a new project at our DIY co-op. The kids are re-enacting the first scene of the first Star Wars movie. They each have a role- as an an actor/actress, director, film editor, or camerman/camerwoman. 

The book we read for book club for the month of January was The Pushcart War. We met at the end of January to discuss it.

 We had a great time discussing the book, including the wordplay on characters' names and how ethical they were or weren't!

The kids all made hats like one of the characters in the story (Frank the Flower)

We also had lots of yummy book inspired treats, including homemade donuts and hot cocoa. The kids also got some target practice in with darts, also inspired by the book!

Robotics and Coding

Our local library hosted a robotics and coding program for kids using a robot named Ozobot.

They learned what codes make Ozobot move in the direction they wanted him to go. 

They made their own codes for Ozobot and gave him a test run.

The colors and patterns they used made Ozobot turn left, turn right, and turn backward. 

And here is a gratuitous cat picture, because Max thinks he is the king of the house. 

Antarctica

In January we did a unit study on Antarctica.

We did presentations at our co-op and everyone shared what they learned. 

Some facts we learned include:

-Antarctica used to be warm! About 34 million years ago it started to freeze over.
-There are no permanent residents in Antarctica.
-Antarctica is the coldest, driest continent.
-Antarctica is considered a desert because there is so little precipitation.

December

December was pretty much a blur!

We went ice skating every week.

 We made cookies practically every day!

And of course, we celebrated Christmas. We actually stuck with our 5 gifts per kid rule. Color me shocked! It was hard not to go on a spending spree, because that's what I like to do during the holidays. This year we decided to be more mindful of my our spending because our children are so fortunate to already have everything they need.

We continued with our weekly commitment to karate, which they enjoy so much!

 What is December without a beautiful snowfall and snowball fight?

And finally, we spent the last day of 2015 with friends, bringing in the New Year.

Augusta, ME

This week made our third stop in our Road Trip of the USA, Augusta, ME.

We started by locating Maine on our wall map and in our atlas. 

We learned interesting facts about the flag, such as the farmer and seaman on it represent the type of work that was common in early times.

We read about homes in the colonial times, learning that the homes were often very small with only one room, called a keeping room. Families worked, cooked, and ate in the keeping room. Adults and babies slept in the keeping room as well. They slept on jack-beds, which were high but so short that they could not sleep stretched out. Beneath their high beds were trundle beds for small children to sleep. Babies slept in cradles near the fireplace in the keeping room, while older children slept in the attic on scratchy straw or soft mattresses filled with feathers or bits of wool.

We also learned that Maine is famous for it's beauty, as well as their active fishing industry. About 90% of Maine is forest land! Maine's state foods are lobster and blueberries.

Lobster is completely off the table for us, but blueberries are among our favorite fruits. We decided to make orange blueberry muffins. Deeeeeeelicious!!!