Pumpkin Patch Field Trip 2012

Horrendously, I did not upload a single post about Merrick's first grade year!  I was just looking through our pictures and am kicking myself for not being more diligent and intention about documenting our year.  So, starting with this post, I am going to go through our pictures and just make some very picture heavy, quick posts of some of the highlights of our year.

This field trip to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm's Pumpkin Patch was one of the highlights of our year together.  It was only $5 per kiddo, and we got an entire day of adventure for that.  We ran through mazes, had a hay ride, had an incredible picnic (while the kids played on tractors and playscapes), decorated pumpkins, played tug-o-war, and even had a potato sack race.  It was flat awesome.

On top of that, we got to pick out our family pumpkins, which is always important to me.  Here and here (on our family site) are our pictures from last year, in case you were curious.  

Here are some pictures from our time on the Tree Farm:

Loved the sign by the animals.  Poor Jenny the Donkey is really being called out there.

Loooove our ACC Homes Cool group.

I love to see Sawyer around animals.  Perhaps this is just my imagination, but there is something about him that seems to just click with little furry creatures. 

Always gotta have a funny face picture!

Merrick with two of our favorite gals, Nia & Juju.

I LOVE this pic of Merrick with Juju.  She is truly a ray of sunshine.  

Climbing to the top of the mountain!

Tug of war!  One of my favorite events.  I love the thought of my kiddos doing something so "old school."  It's so low tech.  No internet.  No smart gadget.  Just grab a robe and have some fun.

I love that there was a random horse that just wondered around the area.  Doesn't get more Texan than that.

This is how Merrick and his buddy passed the time in the car on the way to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm aka The Pumpkin Patch.

Technically, we weren't supposed to be on the tractors, but we didn't read those signs until AFTER our play time.  Oops.

Hayride!!!

Time for a nap.

And, now for a few of our annual pumpkin patch pictures:

A video of our time together:

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 2

Obviously, these plans are in the early stages.  I am going to be a CC tutor for the first time next year (our second CC year) and want to be fully prepared!  My goal is to spend the summer planning little by little so that during the actual CC school year I can just focus on the execution. 

HISTORY SENTENCE

Middle Ages for Kids - lots of info made simple

Love this art activity from Deep Space Sparkle:

This would be great for both Merrick and possibly the twins.  

Very cool - web site where kids can explore a castle.

Merrick would LOVE this funny video about all the kings and queens of England starting with William the Conqueror.  Must watch!

GEOGRAPHY

I really like the two ideas below for sea craft ideas from Tonya at Make and Takes.

ENGLISH

Poor Daffy Duck learns that not knowing your pronouns can get you in trouble!  (Warning: Elmer Fudd does use his gun in this clip.)

Pocket full of pronouns from Teacher Bits and Bobs

Free pronoun printable and interactive chart with Teachers Pay Teachers

ART

Let's Learn about Symmetry from All Things Heart and Home.  I remember doing this same kind of project with a butterfly when I was a young girl and I LOVED it.  

Here is a symmetrical butterfly art project that is just a bit more advanced for kids that are just a bit older.  It's from Deep Space Sparkle, one of my favorite go-to sites for art resources for kids.

SCIENCE

It's been tough trying to find games or activities surrounding consumers.  The kids did like watching this video over my shoulder however (especially the part where the elephant puts an entire pumpkin in his mouth):

Several links to some food chain games here at Mrs. Thompson's class blog.

That's it for now!

I should mention...this is just a list of resources and ideas.  We don't actually complete all of these activities.  In a typical day, we have a Bible lesson, review the CC memory work, do phonics and math, and (perhaps) complete one craft activity or game that correlates to our memory work. We also spend time reading together.  Merrick will be in the 2nd grade starting Fall 2013.  The twins will be 4 years old.  Aside from the Bible lesson, I do not expect any thing from the twins in regard to their formal education.  If they choose to join us, they may.  If they do not want to participate, they may play independently.  

I'm linking up to the Cycle 2 Weekly Link Up Page on Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.  It is one of the most helpful blogs there is for CC parents!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 1

Here are our plans and ideas for Classical Conversations - Cycle 2, Week 1...

HISTORY SENTENCE

It is pretty hard to find ideas and activities surrounding Charlemagne.  Truthfully, I'm not going to worry about this too much.  Week 1 will be our first week back to CC for Merrick, and the twins' first week in CC (they just turned 4).  It will also be my first week as a tutor (eeeek!), so we will probably keep it simple.  We will probably just end up borrowing some good books on Charlemagne from the library and reading those together.  

However, I do love some of the ideas displayed here at Cup of Tea blog:

I may just have to get that Story of the World activity book this year!

Charlemagne for kids

Also, I think we are just going to HAVE to make a family timeline this year!  I will not expect much from the kiddos on this one.  I thought perhaps we can just add one person a week.  There is some great info on how to do this (along with free printables) at Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.

SCIENCE

We must, must, must build a biome in a bottle!  How cool is this?!?

Directions and more pics here.  

More biome resources:

Biome worksheets on Enchanted Learning (requires a membership)

World Biomes Pin Map (with free printables).  Just glue the map to a piece of corkboard and use straight pins to place the biome cards.   

Oh.my.gooooodness!  I just found this "Biome song" that uses Minecraft as the backdrop.  Merrick will   be soooo excited to see this!  

Another biome song written by a teacher.  This one is very educational!

GEOGRAPHY

Youtube video of the Continents and Oceans song

This is a great game we can play to learn the continents!

Another good idea: make a map out of a Chinet oval plate (could do a paper mache globe as well, but this seems easier).

Scoutie Girl thinks it would be awesome to paint an interactive map like this one:

If we made this map, we could laminate the continents and names of the oceans and continue to play with it over and over again.  I could even use it as a tutor at CC.

ENGLISH

Fun idea for teaching the 8 parts of speech (blog origin unknown)

8 parts of speech CC chant on Youtube

Parts of speech posters ($2.50 at Teachers Pay Teachers)

Other fun ideas:

Marshmallow Catapult!

Books to borrow from the library:

The Minstrel in the Tower

Books to Purchase:

The Apprentice

The Sword and the Tree

Tales of Robin Hood

That's it for now!

I should mention...this is just a list of resources and ideas.  We don't actually complete all of these activities.  In a typical day, we have a Bible lesson, review the CC memory work, do phonics and math, and (perhaps) complete one craft activity or game that correlates to our memory work. We also spend time reading together.  Merrick will be in the 2nd grade starting Fall 2013.  The twins will be 4 years old.  Aside from the Bible lesson, I do not expect any thing from the twins in regard to their formal education.  If they choose to join us, they may.  If they do not want to participate, they may play independently.  

I'm linking up to the Cycle 2 Weekly Link Up Page on Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.  It is one of the most helpful blogs there is for CC parents!