My Little History Buff
Monkey seems to have decided that history is awesome. My original thought was that we'd do maybe two Ancient Rome topics/projects per week and just draw it out for a while. Monkey however has insisted we cover something every single day this week. It's a good thing I have a ready list of topics!

• Monday & Tuesday: Listen to me read about Hannibal and the Punic Wars (he fought with elephants and snakes--so fascinating!) as well as the Romans interactions with the barbarians, while coloring Roman paper dolls (a boy and girl each with multiple outfits). While I was cutting out their dolls, they came up with a historically accurate storyline to play out when I was done: Bug's girl (in a fancy dress) was a Roman citizen. Monkey's boy (in armor and carrying a spear) was a gladiator, the kind who fights animals, she specified (he took on a couple of teddy bears at one time). She noted that as a gladiator, he was a slave, but he would win so many fights that they would give him his freedom. Then he and the girl, who came to watch the games, could actually be friends because they'd both be free and get to do what they wanted.
• Wednesday: We read about what great builders and engineers the Romans were, browsed our books for photographs of Roman buildings, roads, and other works, and finally we built! Using their small wooden blocks we constructed the Colosseum (complete with Playmobil gladiator and a beast for him to fight), an aqueduct, a fort (note the architectural details of an arched gate with a triangle on top and watchtowers along the walls), and a long straight road leading from the fort (with a member of the cavalry approaching the fort). 

  

  (Photos courtesy of Bug)

• Thursday: We read about Roman music, searched our instrument bin for instruments similar to theirs (flutes), and created a lyre from a shoebox lid and a couple of big rubber bands. A concert followed, of course.

• Friday: We read about how Roman children were educated (mostly homeschool!) and what tools they used, then the girls completed their own math and reading lessons using styluses and "wax tablets" (playdough rolled out on the table).

Farmer's Market
We went back to the local farmer's market this week, and this time we got there early enough to buy some produce. The girls thought it was pretty neat that they got to actually see the farmer's who grew the food, and they insisted on steaming the broccoli for immediate consumption as soon as we got home. We also got to study some gorgeous terrariums, meet the greyhounds again, stop by an exhibit about bats courtesy of the local 4H club (it included a taxidermied bat--very cool), and watch a lady weaving a scarf on a portable loom. Before heading for home, they also got to play on the playground next to the market. Highlights: Monkey and Bug were thrilled to discover a set of monkey bars they could conquer all by themselves, and Goose wore herself out climbing ladders, sliding down slides, and repeating endlessly.

Math
We started out the week with a little marshmallow math--always popular. I passed out simple addition flashcards and number lines with a handful of mini marshmallows to help Monkey and Bug solve them. Goose practiced counting out 10 marshmallows. We celebrated their success by practicing subtraction and eating them all! The girls also did a lot of number worksheets this week--pages focusing on specific numbers, matching up a number of objects to numerals, and practicing writing out numerals. The pages I'm using are from a preschool workbook I rediscovered when I finally got around to organizing my filing cabinet, but I think we're going to have to track down a kindergarten workbook soon. Bug in particular seems to thrive on solving these number problems.

Sartorial Skills
We've been letting the girls pick out their own clothes since they were probably 18 months old (well, they insisted, and I decided I wasn't willing to fight that battle every morning). They've come up with very interesting ensembles over the past few years (and still do), but now Monkey and Bug are figuring out how to really put a proper outfit together. They were particularly proud of these outfits this week and asked me to take a picture.

Reading
Monkey decided to start off her week of reading lessons by writing her own story about a rat who drew a picture of a shark in her composition book (she dictated, then traced). This week we did a special review session of all the letter sounds she's learned so far and spent some extra time on the ones she wasn't so sure of before adding a new sound: h. She also read several sentences. The stories in Bug's lessons keep getting longer with smaller type! She's rising to the challenges very well though, and she added the sight word of this week.

Library Day

This photo refuses to go properly
horizontal. Weird.

We were surprised by a storytime this week (I had thought the season was over, but they did one more since it's spring break here). They went all out with this one with songs, dancing, games, and movement-required books. Unfortunately, that backfired with the entourage who simply wanted to sit and listen to a few good books (they were frustrated when everyone else kept popping up to follow the directions and they couldn't see the pictures). They did enjoy the crafts though: creating flower pictures with pipe cleaners, Q-tips, and white paint on construction paper.

We came home with this stack of books:
Desert Mammals
Wild Boars
Holidays around the World
Measuring Penny
Becky the Borrower
The Three Pigs
The Nutcracker
Leon the Chameleon
I Saw You in the Bathtub and Other Folk Rhymes
Overboard!
Chicken Soup

Busy, Busy Girls!
A glimpse into our life: This is what happens when I ask the entourage to tell me about what they're doing outside.