Golden Beads~

I have put a lot of thought in the past month into acquiring the montessori bead material. Currently I am using Shiller math, and it is OK. I just would really like to get a bit "deeper" into mathematics. So I have decided to just go for it and order them, I was originally hesitant because of the cost, but I think it will be a superb investment. I am finding that the more active way of montessori works well for us. She has been working really well with different 3 part cards that we have. Today She put Roman numerals in order form 1 to 20. Fun~

Ahhh Kauai~~

I guess I should talk a bit about Kauai, it seems it is all I have been talking about lately, but there were some learning moments to mention :)

Learning moment # 1- We went to a very sweet lei making class on the west side of Kauai. About a 45 minute drive from where where we were staying, so it seemed a bit of a hassle when we were getting ready in the morning, especially with the beach calling us, but my husband was determined to get us there~there were a few thrift shops in it for him......
When we got there, I walked into the museum to see a table full of tropical flowers waiting for us. The scent was intoxicating. The lady welcomed us, and we got started right away. Sophia and I were the only ones in the class! I wish I could remember the names of the flowers. Anyway, she was so sweet, and after talking for a while about all the tropical fruits on the island, she got into her car, and drove down the road to a friends house to pick me some fruits she wanted me to try~I could not believe it! We had a great time~~well worth it to see the beautiful leis that Sophia made for her and her dad. I made one for me and Lucy.

Learning moment # 2- Snorkeling~magical fun under the sea. This is science right??? We saw amazing & colorful fish, and creatures. She saw sea stars, urchins, and an eel. I think it really gave her a taste for the undersea world. She wanted to do it everyday. Me too! After our beach adventures, we looked up the kinds of fish we saw.
I am sure there were many more learning moments that i have not mentioned, especially the one when we woke up to an unidentified sea creature on the floor in our house......

This week we did a lot of catching up after Kauai. It feels pretty good getting back into the swing of things. We began the week learning a bit about St. Martin on his special day. We made lanterns in honor of the occasion, and it was a lot fun, we have kept on doing it all week, even Lucy has been into it. I can tell things are about to get crafty around here for the holidays.

We had a field trip this week with the local homeschool group to a fabulous local bakery. A superb field trip. Especially the warm focaccia samples at the end.

Brown and Furry....

Caterpillar in a hurry;
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk.

May no toad spy you,
May the little birds pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again, a butterfly

The Caterpillar
by Christina Rosetti

This was the first poem Sophia memorized with First Language Lessons. I think it is so sweet, and she loves to say it.
We have been loving our caterpillar nature walks lately, as there have been hundreds of these Wolly Bears, on and around our trail this fall. Soon they will "spin and die to live again" as an Isabella Tiger moth.

Landform Fun

You know them, you love them, landforms~
today we spent the morning exploring the landforms of our planet with clay and blue water.
We worked with our Montessori cards for guidance and created archipelago, a strait, bay & lake (the picture above is a strait by the way). It was great fun, and perfect for our pre-study time before the Hawaiian Islands.