Wild Explorers Club

Last month we joined a group of friends to meet up for weekly adventures. We all signed up for the Wild Explorers Club. Each week we complete our mission in order to earn a certificate. After several tasks each child earns a badge.

Our first mission was to pack like an explorer. Using their basic guideline we bought supplies for our bags.

 The following week we met up for our first hike!

 Each child had a turn to lead the group. Sometimes it was on the trail, other times it wasn't!

 We learned a little about sugar maple trees.

 The scenery was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can appreciate the beauty of nature but I am not a woodsy kind of person because of critters and bugs. But we all had a really great time!

Library, Cooking, & Piano

We took a quick trip to the library before cooking class to check out some new books.

The kids finished their 6 week cooking class.They earned their final bag of ingredients, recipes, certificates, and a cookie.

They had a great time learning nutritious, healthy recipes. Caitlin had a great time trying all of the different kinds of foods. Jayden absolutely hated trying new things. But they did learn a lot about food labels and ingredients.

Finally, the kids have been working on piano lessons at home with their MusIQ program. 

Board Breaking

I can not possibly rave enough about the wonderful teachers at our karate school. They are gentle, yet firm. They really build the kids' confidence, encouraging them and teaching them to encourage each other, which is an important character skill. I love how passionate the teachers are. You can tell this isn't just a regular job for them. This is something they enjoy doing. Every week my kids are eager to get to karate. Most of the time we arrive 15 minutes early, and their Sensei invites them out on to the mat. He practices their moves with them and gently critiques their katas. I am so grateful for everything my children have learned and will continue to learn thanks to these wonderful teachers!

Ok, gushing over! Here are my not so little karate kids breaking boards.

China Part 2 (Co-op)

Earlier this week we had our geography co-op. Before the co-op a couple of friends came over and watched a video on Ancient China.

When it came time for presentations, Caitlin was all ready in her traditional Chinese dress, known as a Cheongsam.

She talked about the different clothing throughout the last few thousand years, as well as the Chinese foot binding process. 

Jayden talked about the traditions of the Chinese New Year, including the legend of the Chinese New Year, the history behind the red envelopes, the foods they eat and why they eat them.

The kids enjoyed egg rolls, traditional Chinese steamed mantou (steamed bread), and water straight from China's Yellow Sea! (Ok, ok, it was from my kitchen).

Later the kids played a game where they had to move candy from a bowl to a plate using chopsticks. They got to eat whatever they managed to get. 

Some of them were really good and some of them were frustrated! So one of the moms gave a quick chopsticks tutorial. 

We saved a couple of chopsticks to use on our own time too! 

China Part 1

We have been working on a China unit study for a geography co-op we are part of. Jayden's topic was the Chinese New Year, and Caitlin's topic were the traditions of fashion throughout the last 2,500 years in China.

We read lots of books, but this one was our favorite.Anything that Ms. Frizzle does is always adventurous, which is a plus for us!

We watched skimmed through several documentaries, which, admittedly, none of us really enjoyed. 

We also watched a short video on Brainpop Jr about Ancient China. 

Last weekend we went to a Chinese New Years Festival. 

 They had a lot of their art displayed, which we checked out before the show started.

The kids got a chance to practice some calligraphy. 

They also made bookmarks. 

It was extremely crowded there but the celebration was very interesting. 

Everything was in Mandarin, although a lot of it was translated to English.  Kids told jokes. Their banter was based on homophones that we didn't get because it was in Mandarin.

A very talented woman played a three stringed instrument. 

Children and adults did some wonderful dancing in their traditional Chinese garb. 

And finally, there was a martial arts performance. 

When we got home we made several crafts including paper lanterns and the New Year Dragon to decorate the dining room in preparation of our co-op meeting. 

 

Here is Jayden working on his presentation. 

Both kids did a History Pocket on Ancient China. They learned about the food, shelter, and clothing during that time. 

Look at these faces! Don't they look like they enjoyed geography? ;)