Ambleside Online : Planning our first week

After much thought, I have finally decided to jump in & follow AO Yr 1
I love so many of Charlotte Mason's ideas & have implemented them into our homeschool, such as nature study, artist study, & so forth. But, i want to follow the wonderful booklist on AO, so here goes!
I am going to begin reading The Original Homeschooling Series
by Charlotte Mason slowly, thoughtfully & purposefully. The books have just arrived, so will make a start at the weekend.
I have set up a new notebook for myself (oh, how I love to do that!)

My notebook has the following sections:
Schedules & goals
Booklists
Circle Time
Bible
Habbit Training
Copywork
Phonics
Maths
French
History
Geography
Poetry
Literature
Nature Study
Art & Handcrafts
Music (Folksongs & Hymns)
Artist Study
Composer Study
Narration
Legal (homeschooling regs, etc)

Each section has relevant notes filed away there.

I have joined lots of yahoo groups, which offer wonderful support & lots of resources.
Here are the groups I am a member of:
Amble Ramble
AmbleSide Year1
Ambleside Online
AO Member Schedules
AO Art Prints
AO Narration
CharlotteMason UK

Our First Week's Schedule:
All of the books have not yet arrived. hopefully they will have by the weekend, although I know Aesops Fables wont be here, as it is coming from alibris.co.uk & they take a while.

Here is what I have planned out so far:
Daily:
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Bible:
1)Two Blind Men--Matt. 20:30-34
2)Zacchaeus--Luke 19:1-10
3)Parable of Pounds—Luke 19:11-27
4)Moneychangers--Matt. 21:12-16
5)The Fig-Tree--Matt. 21:17-22
6)Authority Challenged--Mat 21:23-27
7)Parable of Two Sons--Matt 21:28-32
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Habit
First time obedience

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Circle Time:

Prayer.
We use the ACTS Acrostic for Prayer:

Adoration - Spend time praising the Lord and adoring Him for who he is (Matt. 6:9). Use Scripture to praise Him (see Pss. 103, 145, 150; Rev. 4:8; 5:12-14). Love and cherish His presence and allow Him to work in and through your life (see Matt. 22:32-34). Be still before Him and enjoy His presence (see Ps. 46:10). Use this time to allow God to speak to you through His Word and Spirit (see Pss. 40:1-3; 90:12-17). Praise the Lord by praying scripture or hymns back to Him (see Ps. 84; Rev. 4:8; 5:9-10, 12-13 and "Great is Thy Faithfulness").

Confession - Confession should be a part of your continual walk with Christ (see Matt. 6:9-13). Spend time asking Christ to search your heart for areas that displease Him (see Ps. 139:23-24). Allow God to cleanse your heart of any unconfessed sin (see Ps. 51:10-13). Be sure to spend time confessing and repenting of (turning away from) specific sins (see 1 John 1:9). Accept His forgiveness and cleansing (see Jer. 31:34).

Thanksgiving - Giving thanks for all things should be a part of our everyday lives as God's people (see Phil. 4:6-7). This includes thanking God for specific things such as blessings, people, open doors, guidance, etc. Also give thanks for His salvation and the privilege to serve such a wonderful Savior. Thank Him for his goodness, loving-kindness, and faithfulness (see Ps. 100:4-6).

Supplication - We are called as believers to intercessory prayer (see Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 18:1; Col. 4:2; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). Thus, we are to come before God on behalf of others (see Heb. 10:19-25; Rev. 1:4-6). Spend time praying for specific people, events, states, countries, missionaries, etc. (see Acts 12:5; Rom. 10:1). In addition, spend time praying for personal needs (see Matt. 6:11-13). Make prayer lists for your time of supplication. Be sure to include a place for answers to be recorded. Recorded answers can become items for praise and thanksgiving.

Scripture memorisation Eph 2:8-9 : For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Read a daily devotion from Everything a Child Should Know About God

Hymn: (our favourite) This Is My Father's World

R's learning poster this week, 'F' & '4'

Dolch Words: we recap our previously learned sight words & add 3 more.

Recite: 'Whole Duty of Children' R.L. Stevenson
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penmanship: 'Whole Duty of Children' R.L. Stevenson ~ 1 sentence per day. I use this Denelian worksheet maker
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phonics: Begin box 2 Bob Books
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math: 2 pages per day from Kumon Easy Telling Time
Read Clocks & more clocks
Using our Hundred Board, count 1-100, 10-1, skip count to 100 by 10's
Play number games
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french: 10 mins max per day:
Hello! My name is... ~ Bonjour! Je m'appelle...
What is your name? Comment t'appelles-tu?
How are you? Ça va ?/ Comment ça va ? (formal, plural)
I'm doing well, thank you Ça va bien, merci
Goodbye! Au revoir!
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weekly:

nature study: Continue to make daily observations in our journals. Friday is devoted to nature study, so we will do some more intensive Autumn Study
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art: I plan to leave this one to my creative little girlies to come up with :)
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music: This is my Father's world & Soldier Soldier Wont You Marry Me?
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handicrafts: A simple version of this felt bookmark
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Artist Study: Continuing our look at clouds in art.
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Composer Study Continuing with Bach
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Our AO reading list:
An Island Story: chapter 1 "The Stories of Albion and Brutus"
Fifty Famous Stories Retold: "The Sword of Damocles" (Greek)
Parables from Nature: "A Lesson of Faith"
Aesop's Fables: "The Wolf and the Kid" (pg. 7 in the Milo Winter version) and "Tortoise and the Ducks" (pg. 8 in the Milo Winter version)
Just So Stories: "Whale"
A Child's Garden of Verses: a poem every day
Paddle to the Sea: chapter 1
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Narration
A key component of Charlotte Mason’s method is narration. In simple terms, narration is telling back in your own words what you just read or heard. It’s a wonderful evaluation tool that requires much thinking and assimilating on the student’s part. Narration can be done in many ways; here is a list of suggestions.

The narration Dice
This is such a wonderful idea!!!!
Read an explanation here
A template to make one.
See a really sweet one here.

Autumn Nature Journaling

Autumn Nature Journaling ~ by Claire Walker Leslie
Birds
What birds live near you? Which birds will migrate? What birds stay near you all winter? Observe changes in activity & preparations for winter or migration. What are the birds eating? Draw from life five local birds.
Animals
Look for signs of winter preparations, including butterfly & dragonfly migration, changes in grasshopper calls. Slugs, spiders, bugs & fish head for dark places. Read about & draw the eight most common animals that you think live near you: rabbits, squirrels, foxes, frogs, fish, butterflies, snails, ants & so on. Learn animal tracks by drawing them & noting the size of each print, the distance between tracks, the width between front or back tracks.
Plants
Which plants bloom the latest: asters, chicory, calendula? Which plants have seeds? Find different grass, rush & sedge seed heads & draw them. Draw five different leaves from plants & contrast their shapes. What plants have leaves turning colour? Draw & identify five wildflowers near you. Were they ever used for medicine, in cooking, or to dye wool?
Trees
What trees turn colour? Draw five different leaves with different colours & shapes. Do trees of the same kind all have the same colours? Do different kinds of trees each have their own autumn colour change? Read about Autumn foliage changes. Identify & draw seeds, fruits & nuts of trees & shrubs. Draw the difference between evergreen & deciduous trees. Which trees are native to your areas; which have been imported?
Weather& Sky
Watch for weather changes. Learn the cloud types & what kind of weather each indicates. Draw cloud shapes & patterns,note the colours of the sky, sunsets, rain patterns. Keep a daily weather & temperature chart so you can begin to predict weather in your area.Which phases of the moon do you see & when?
Season & Landscapes
What sounds in nature are changing? Days are drawing noticeably shorter after September 22nd. Draw a little landscape scene showing treeshapes & colour changes. What does Autumn mean to you? What are the fesivals of autumn?
Yourself
How does the autumn weather make you feel? What is your response to the changing autumn colours? Draw events that symbolise the season for you.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

We baked these (scroll right down) today, & delicious they are too!
Here is my biggest helper...

& here are the finished rolls (minus a few!)

(Please excuse the poor photograph)

Delicious!

this is super-delicious & great for the children to help make:
Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Planting a Rainbow...

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Here is the review from Amazon.com:
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1 Planting a Rainbow , a companion to Ehlert's Growing Vegetable Soup (HBJ, 1987), is a dazzling celebration of the colorful variety in a flower garden and the cyclical excitement of gardening. A young child relates in ten simple sentences the yearly cycle and process of planning, planting, and picking flowers in a garden. Mother and child plant bulbs in fall, order seeds from catalogs in winter, eagerly anticipate the first shoots of spring, select seedlings in summer, ``and watch the rainbow grow,'' reveling in the opulence of color. The power of this book lies in the glowing brilliance and bold abstraction of the double-page collages. Ehlert combines simple, stylized shapes of flat, high intensity color into abstract yet readily identifiable images of plants and flowers while clearly and colorfully labeling each plant on an adjacent garden marker. Children will especially delight in the six pages of varying width depicting all the flowers of each color of the rainbow. A celebration of the garden, the power of shape and color, and the harmony of text and image in a picture book. Pamela Miller Ness, The Fenn School, Concord, Mass.

This is a really beautiful book, that we read in late summer. Today, we began our own rainbow garden.
Here are the bulbs we planted:
Red: Greigu Tulips
Orange: Tulip Orange Emperor
Yellow: Narcissi Red Devon
Green: Double snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis flore Pleno
Blue: Striped Squills, Puschkinia Libanotica
Indigo/Violet: English Bluebells

& here is my rather wet helper..

Autumn Nature Table

Here you can see our gnomes looking after our autumn squash. Also in this pic are some of our feathers (E collects feathers) plus some fungus (artist fungus, earth ball & amethyst deceiver)


Here we have 'All year Round' by Elsa Beskow, turned to the October pages, our carved mushrooms & a bowl of acorns & conkers.




A couple of the whole table


Our little guys again :)

E is for...Egg

This week, we are learning about 'E' & the number 4

We will be gluing egg shells to this 'e' template

Colouring/decorating this blank egg template

Cutting, sticking & labelling with numbers, 4 egg shapes.

We will be reading Rechenka's Eggs

Making an egg shaped mini book to draw pictures of our favorite things in..

Matching the speckled eggs

We will also use our egg-box that has the numbers 1-12 written in the bases. Count out buttons, coins, whatever, to match the written number.

Completely out of season, but we will try our hand at dying eggs great for nature study!

Boiled eggs & soldiers will make the perfect tea-time treat.

Bible: Even a child is known by his doings. Pro 20:11

Book of The Week- Pumpkin Pumpkin

Next week is Halloween week..so, our book for the week is a lovely, gentle tale, 'Pumpkin Pumpkin' by Jeanne Titherington

My thoughts on celebrating Halloween as a Christian are perfectly put into words by Joanna Bogle in her book A Book of Feasts and Seasons

It is fun to celebrate Hallowe’en - but only because we are linking it with the Christian reality of All Saints which follow. The emphasis on ghosts & witches & eerie things-that-go-bump in the night is an attempt to return to old Pagan ways. Christians know that old Pagan superstitions & fear must give way to the joy of the resurrection & the reality of eternal life.
Celebration of Hallowe’en should be linked with the fact that on the next day, All Hallows November 1st we commemorate with joy the Saints who have gone to heaven & are now rejoicing with God forever.
Some people, indeed, say that the ghosts & souls theme of Hallowe’en is very appropriate for the eve of All Saints day - Satan is angry thinking about all those saints who slipped through his clutches.
A family commemoration of Hallowe’en can be a way of re-emphasising the Christian belief in life after death. Things should be kept on the level of family fun, avoiding witchy symbols & so-forth,with games & tasty food & a sense of drawing together in warmth on an autumnal evening.
Children should be taught to say a quick prayer if they are ever frightened of anything ‘ghosty’ at night or in a strange place & they should be reminded that they place their faith in God’s loving care & protection.

Our activities for the week:

Pumpkin carving

Make a booklet in the shape of a pumpkin to record the following experiments:

How much does our pumpkin weigh? my girls are too small to estimate weight, but we do comparing activities: which is heavier, E, R or the pumpkin? This is a great graphing activity.

Estimate the circumfrence of the pumpkin by cutting a piece of yarn that they think will fit around the pumpkin. Sort pieces by too short, too long and just right.

Does a pumpkin sink or float?

Guess the number of ridges on the pumpkin

Estimate the number of seeds in the pumpkin

Pass out cards with numbers on them, glue seeds to the given number.

Compare pumpkins to apples.

Make a book describing the inside and outside of a pumpkin using the five senses and observation skills.

Encourage children to talk about what they know about pumpkins: What do you think it would look like inside? Have you ever carved a pumpkin? etc.
Things to discuss:
Are the seeds scattered randomly within a pumpkin, or arranged in some sort of pattern?
Do big pumpkins have larger seeds than small pumpkins?
Is there anything in a pumpkin which lines up with the creases on the outside?
How thick is the skin of a pumpkin? How far in is the meat?

Encourage children to use their senses to describe the outside of the pumpkin & record their reponses on the chart. What does it feel like, smell like, look like, sound like, etc.?
Then, remove the pumpkin's lid and have the children observe & describe the inside of the pumpkin.
Give them the materials to make a pumpkin book. It only needs to have a cover and 1 page.
Have the children record the descriptions of the outside of the pumpkin on the cover.
Have them record descriptions for the inside of the pumpkin on the inside cover.
On the white inside page, they may paste pumpkin seeds and yarn, and illustrate the inside of the pumpkin using crayons, construction paper, markers, etc.

Make a pumpkin glyph
Explain that a glyph is a way to represent data pictorially.
Start with the outline of a pumpkin.
Q 1 Which kind of sweets do you like best? If it is chocolate, make circle eyes on your pumpkin. If it is jellies, make triangles for eyes. If it is licorice, make rectangles for eyes.

Q 2 Have you ever eaten pumpkin before? Yes, give your pumpkin a square nose, no, give your pumpkin a triangle nose.

Q 3 How old are you ? Make a mouth with one tooth for each year of your age.

When the glyph pumpkins are completed look at each others pumpkins, to try to work out the answers. & dont forget to colour them!

Predict and find out what two colors make orange

Make a jack o lantern out of your children's thumb prints

Use pumpkin seeds to make a picture.

Create a mosaic with dyed pumpkin seeds
A mosaic is an art form made with small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. Individual pieces are called tesserae. They fit together to form a design, which is set in mortar. Mosaics can decorate ceilings, floors, walls, sidewalks, and furniture.People of many cultures have used mosaic art. Mosaics appeared as early as 3000 BC and became widespread during 300 BC in cities ruled by Greece. In the 6th century, mosaics were a popular art form in the Byzantine Empire. Islamic people of India and Persia, the Aztec and Mayan Indians, and Mexicans in modern times have all created mosaic art.

Drawing the pumpkin in our nature journals

drying seeds for planting next year

Putting our pumpkin nomenclature cards in the correct order & discussing the lifecycle of a pumpkin. Try this set (thanks,Michelle!)

Baking:
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pumpkin canned, or mashed, cooked
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 each egg beaten,
1 Package yeast, active dry
1 cup flour, all-purpose
1 cup bread flour
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
1 x cinnamon ground
2 tablespoons butter melted

Directions
In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 Tbs. butter just until warm (120F to 130F) and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.
In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt.
Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed.
Beat in egg and yeast.
In separate mixing bowl, combine flours.
Add half of flour mixture to pumpkin mixture.
Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently.
Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft).
Turn into lightly greased bowl then grease surface of dough lightly.
Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down.
Turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle.
On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12- by 10-inch rectangle.
In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Brush surface of dough with melted butter.
Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.
Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jelly-roll style.
Pinch seam to seal.
With sharp knife, cut roll into twelve 1-inch slices.
Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 9-inch square baking pan.
Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes, Bake rolls at 350F for about 20 minutes or until golden.
Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack.
Cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
Drizzle with Caramel Frosting

Caramel Frosting
INGREDIENTS
30 g butter
45 ml milk or cream
110 g packed brown sugar
120 g confectioners' sugar
3 ml vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, and mix in 3 tablespoons milk and brown sugar. Boil vigorously for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Cool slightly, and beat in the vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick.

More pumpkin activities can be found here & here.

Choose Life

These are not gory video's just very very sad:

YouTube Just tell us the truth...
Born Alive

Learning the alphabet with clothes pegs

Here is a great idea I picked up from Jamin's blog
All you need is a large plastic coat hanger (the sort from the dry cleaner's is perfect) & wooden clothes pegs. Now, we all know how much littlies just love to peg things, dont we! LOL!
I put the upper case letters at the top of the peg and lower case letters at the bottom.
On the back I numbered them 1-26 . Once they are all clipped on, turn the hanger over and see if all the numbers are in order. So it's self checking! Brilliant :)

Book of The Week

We will be continuing with our tiger study for another week, then the following week will be Halloween, so we will be reading Pumpkin Pumpkin

How to keep the Pre-School Crowd Happy!

I love reading other people's blogs. I love to hear how other mum's entertain their little ones, whilst schooling the elder ones. Some have special toys for the purpose, some keep the 'main stuff' for nap times, some involve the pre-school crowd as much as they can.
I however, believe I have found the ultimate answer to this oft-discussed topic.
Worms.
Yes, worms!
Take one little girl & an empty Ice cream box. fill with earth & a few worms. Position at the table, with a tray to catch any spilled dirt, or runaway worms & there you have it: PEACE! LOL! For a whole hour! & even then, it was I who decided we had to end this wonderful activity (we had to go somewhere)
Next time I will snap a picture ;)

Planning our Week

Each wednesday, I sit down in the evening, & begin to make plans for the next week. I have this list printed off in my notebook to jog my memory, & remind me what I need to be thinking about. Looking at it all here, it looks such a lot to think about & do. Firstly, we by no means achieve it all! & secondly, some of the things, such as planning circle time, are not done each week. (Circle time stays the same for approximately 6 weeks)
So, here is my list of what I do to plan out our week. It is a good plan, it keeps me focused & is flexible :)

Of note;
check calender, places to go, festivals, seasonal changes, special days
ant field trip opps?

Buckets
Tidy school buckets
Re-fill quiet time buckets
Puzzle/Bible/Books/animals/

Library
Collect all books to return
List books to look for/order/collect
List music to look for/order/collect

Nature Table
update

Circle Time
Scripture/Poem/Facts/Hymn/Memory Work/Dolch Words

R's Learning
Chose workbook/sheets
Letter/number/shape for learning poster
Print out template for letter of the week
Plan ‘lapbook page’ for the week
print all relevant pages to go in Rosie’s book
Chose a character trait for the week (tie in with letter of the week)
mark in Bible & find story in Rosie’s story Bible
Check ‘1001 ways to introduce your child to the Bible’ & internet for related activities, songs, etc

Book of the Week
Choose weekly book
Plan daily activities to go with book of the week

Faith
Review goals sheets
-List daily readings
-survey my primary liturgical idea books - whether it be teaching ideas for the readings, or activities for an upcoming feast day.
-Make photocopies / printouts for the week ahead.
-check favorite online sources
-pull together a general plan for the week:
-What will we read?
-What will we do?
-What theme(s) will shape our week?
-Plan Faith-at-Home tea

Language Arts
Review goals sheets
Read alouds:
Choose chapter book
choose other books to compliment studies
make library list

Copywork
E-print out each days CW
R-print reading readiness sheets from donnayoung.org R is only three years old, but she so dearly wants to learn to read & write! we keep her happy with her own sheets to 'write' on & her own 'reading lesson' - reading from her story bible with mummy!
Lift out sandpaper letter
Kumon sheets

Phonics/reading
Plan phonics rule (trick) or family to introduce
Read up in ABC’s & All Their Tricks
Any sight words to introduce?
Choose easy readers/living books
Prep games/activities/road blocks for E & R
Lift sandpaper letter for R

Maths
Review goals sheets
choose topics of study for the month.
Read up on topics
List games, prep sheets, pull Kumon books etc
Choose math stories & games
Memory work for circle time?

Science / Nature Study
Review goals sheets
+Plan from ‘spine’
+Work from unit study plan.
Look up current topic, area of interest in ‘keeping a nature journal’
Look up intro pages in HBNS on current topic
Read intro to topic
Read the small section that pertain to that object or creature.
Write in the book as you go along to highlight the information that I want to share with E & R.
Take a few minutes and share those points and then help E & R make a nature journal entry using those points.
If you want to make a more in depth study, turn to the end of the section and use the suggested activities or just pick out one or two items to try.
Go through personal library and check for reference items on the subject of the study.
When you come indoors from your nature time, pull it out and turn to the index to see if something you saw that day is covered in the book.
Memory work for circle time?

Artist Study
Look on list for next artist
Look up art activity in ‘discovering the great artists’
Choose prints to study (inc one suitable for above activity)
Order books
Choose 5-6 pertinent facts
Print off any needed artwork
Pick up any supplies needed
Plan ‘artist tea’s’

Composer Study
look on list for next composer
order CD
download to MAC
Make playlist
Check if included in ‘spiritual lives’
Order any needed books
Write up pieces chosen
BOC

D is for Dinosaur

Our preschool week. R is so keen to keep up with her big sister, that i decided to do some 'preschool' with her. She has her own notebook, the kind with a clear plastic pocket on the front. R is very proud of her book, it has her name printed on the front & a photograph of herself, too :)

We are working our way through the alphabet, one letter per week. We also have a number of the week & either a shape or colour of the week. This all goes on R's learning poster, which is displayed on our living room wall. (this idea is adapted from the learning poster atLetter of the Week Next week will be 'd' week, with 3 & diamonds being our number & shapes of the week.

Not all the activities are pre-school level; some of the activities are for my older daughter.

Here are our planned activites
a 'd' template (we only use the lowercase) to cut out & mount on cardstock. R will use a cork from an old wine bottle to decorate the cardsock with printed 'dots'
We will be reading lots of dinosaur books, including this one
a dinosaur colouring page
A dinosaur bone hunt. I have made some cardstock 'bones' for the kids to hunt (I plan to hide them in the garden if the weather is fine.
Sort all the diamonds from a pack of playing cards
Make diamonds on our geoboards
Draw diagonal lines
Letter sort: d's from b's : print onto cardstock, cut into squares & fix to straws. Sort into 2 different cups (labeled 'd' & 'b')
Adding 'd' pictures to R's ABC notebook (dog, duck, etc)

Food: Dinosaur Dinner:
dinosaur legs (chicken drumsticks)
dinosaur eggs (peas)
Rocks & trees (chopped potatoes & broccoli)

Dinosaur poo! (mars bar cakes)

Veggies & Dip

Bible: We are reading through this book:


Philippians 2:14:
Do all things without murmurings and disputings

What's a homeschool mum to do....

...when she finds a rather large frog in the middle of the road, whilst driving to her mother in law's house at gone 7pm at night?
Why, put him in her handbag, of course, bring him home & get the eldest child out of bed to see him:

We spent a happy hour with afore mentioned frog. He in a bug jar, complete with an inch of pond water & a rock to sit on, us girls with our nature journals & pencils. He has now been released into our garden pond, although was last sighted, dancing in the rain on our lawn :)
(please excuse the terrible photo!)


Identification
Tailless amphibian - Smooth skin

Tends to jump not walk

Horizontal ovoid pupil

Dorsal surface and flanks, Very variable in colour, typically yellowish brown, brown but may be olive green coloured and some individuals have a reddish or yellow appearance. Variably spotted or striped.

Ventral surface, Males, dirty white or pale yellow, speckled with grey or brown; females pale yellow to orange

The most consistent markings are the dark patch behind the eye and the strong barring on the hind limbs.

Length: 6 - 9 cm

Rainy Day's

Rainy Days

The weather is never disagreeable, only our attitude towards it!

Psalm 147
Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Things to do:
Dress up in waterproofs & go puddle dancing!
Play dressing up
Use play silks & blankets to make houses, tents etc
Build a train or bus with chairs
Play pirates on the sofa (the floor is the ocean)
Have crumpets for afternoon tea, cuddle up & read stories
Open the rainy day box.....
*
Blank scrapbooks, Glue, Sellotape, Scissors, Pencils/Pens, Old Christmas cards, Magazines, calendars & catalogues for cutting up. Pretty papers, Stickers, Fabrics, Buttons, Beads for stringing, String, Pipe Cleaners, Lolly sticks, Natural materials: Pinecones, Feathers, small twigs, Seed heads &Shells, Pie dishes, Egg boxes & Envelopes.
The Rainy Day box is kept only for such days. It’s magic is soon lost if brought out at other occasions.

Read:
Mushroom in the Rain by Mirra Ginsberg,
A Drop Around the World by Barbara McKinney,
Rain by Marion Dane Bauer.

For Rainbow Days:
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman,Rainbow and You by Edwin C. Krupp and Robin Rector Krupp
For Thundery Days:
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

Book of the Week-The Story of Little Babaji

E has develpoed a passion for Bengal Tigers. At grannny's house, she saw a report on the television detailing how threatened they are. So...she is planning to do a sponsored run 'to give money to the tigers'. The proceeds will go to WWF.
So, this week, we focused on tigers...

Our story book:The Story of little Babaji & also The Tiger Who Came to Tea
We did a *lot* of factual reading...& we made a lapbook to record all our information
I decided to type all E's narrations (in alternating black & orange words, of course!) She then cut them out & stuck them into the relevant places.
As well as our books, a lot of our info came from Enchanted Learning
We learned about:
Camouflage
Other creatures with stripes
Tiger anatomy
Habitat
Diet & finding prey
Teeth
Vocabulary -
1. Quadrupeds ~ four-legged animals
2. Camouflage ~ the hiding or disguising of something by covering it up or changing the way it looks
3. Endangered ~ to threaten with extinction
4. Territorial defending a territory from other animals (and humans)
5. Carnivore ~ a flesh eating animal
6. Tigress ~ a female tiger
Lots of measuring (tigers are huge!) We measured the size of a adult male & female tiger, then marked this out on the pavement with chalk. We compared to our own heights
Graphing with Tiger Maths!
Made a tiger craft (scroll down)
Coloured a Bengal Tiger page
Watched a Tiger Cam
Drawing tigers with this book
Character Study: Manners
Little Babaji uses good manners always saying please and addressing the tigers as “Mr. Tiger.”
Discuss other manners and ways of showing respect. Practice using these manners this week.
Give your child praise as you notice him using good manners throughout the week.

Character Bible Study: Anger, Pride, Quarreling
The Tigers have bad character traits-- anger, quarreling, pride. Here are some scriptures that deal with these issues.

Anger
Proverbs 29:11 "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."

Pride
Proverbs:16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 8:12 " I (The Lord) hate pride and arrogance."

Arguing & Quarreling
Proverbs 17:14 "Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before dispute breaks out."
Proverbs 17:19 "He who loves a quarrel loves sin."
2 Ti 2:24- "And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel-instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful."
(From Homeschoolshare.com)

Beautiful October.....

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
George Cooper

Book of The Week

I have introduced a new element to our homeschooling rhythm:- Book of the Week!
Each week as I am making plans for our home learning, I choose a book (usually, but not always) from our seasonal book basket. I then brainstorm activities to enrich our reading. The internet is a really helpful tool for gleaning ideas, as are the stacks of nature books we own. (Since the book is usually nature related)
This week our book has been Why do leaves change colour?
Our activities have been as follows:
Collecting leaves
Waxing leaves
Leaf rubbings
Baking leaf shaped biscuits
Making leaf impressions in clay
Making pictures with leaf glitter
Separating colours in leaves
Sorting leaves by size, colour & type - & graphing our findings
Playing matching games with pairs of leaves
Drawing leaf shapes for our nature journals
Thinking about how the colours of autumn foliage is related to tree types
Reading about native trees

Our studies also involve learning to read. We use Bob Books plus a host of games & activites
Maths. Currently, E is learning to tell the time. We use a wooden clock, a Kumon workbook, A great number story, & just plain old 'telling the time' :)
And, last but certainly not least, Faith. Each morning at breakfast, I read from our Bible. This gets discussed at great length, during the day :) At bedtime we read the same story in The Child's Story Bible.
We also celebrate the Christian year & observe the seasons, which is a great enrichment to our lives.

Ten Habits of a Happy Homeschool

a great post from Lyndafay