Weekly Wrap Up - Tarantulas, Giant Anteaters, and Realizations

This has been a kind of random week.  You know, one of those weeks where we got alot done, but somehow it doesn't really look that way.  I mean on the checklist.  We started off our week with two pretty normal days of school.  I knew we had a fieldtrip on Wednesday, so we did kind of double up in some areas. 

Wednesday we went and saw our local children's theatre's performance of Stuart Little.  I have to be honest here and say that I was kinda disappointed.  The ending was kinda random and half the time you couldn't understand what the actors were saying.  Not a good first time exposure to theater for my boys.  Needless to say, they aren't lovers of the theater at this point in time!  Oh, well.  Maybe that will change.  We left the play and went over to our local library.  I love to read.  I mean really love to read.  My boys don't love to read - at least not yet.  I have tried and tried to get them involved in some really great fiction books.  They'll read them, declare them as okay and that's it!  Please, please, please suggest some great books for boys! 

Moving on, everytime we go to the library my boys head straight for the nonfiction section.  Anybody else's kiddos do this?  These are the only books they want.  Here is what our book basket consist of when we leave the library:

 

  I was so disappointed for a while because I really wanted them to get into a book, any book, and I was afraid that they were just looking at pictures in these nonfiction books.  But then I had a realization as I came around the corner  and found Drew reading - by his choice!  I realized that reading is reading!  Maybe they don't like fiction books (although, I am convinced that they would if they found the right book).  He stood at the table and read FOREVER.  I mean, I walked passed him a few times - told him to take the book and get comfortable - to which he replied "No thanks." - found my camera and snuck around and grabbed this picture:


I also found the library book basket in utter disarray the other afternoon.  Looks like somebody has been reading!  WooHoo!

Now, on to Thursday.  I'm checking my emails and I see a reminder email and D and D have their animal projects due for one of their co-op classes the NEXT DAY!  Oh my!  Thank you so much to Teresa for the reminder or I would have totally forgotten!  In this co-op class, they were each assigned an animal to research and share their information with the class.  Dalton had the tarantula and Drew had the giant anteater.  Um, did you know that tarantulas are harmless to humans (except for the painful bite)?  That their venom is weaker than than of the common bee? Did you know that a giant anteater has a two foot long tongue and can use its snout as a snorkel when swimming?  Did you know?  I sure didn't!  Here are the boys hard at work on their projects. 

If you know me, and you know my OCD tendencies, then you know that it was so hard for me to let the boys do this project all by themselves.  I wanted everything to be centered and symmetrical and all nice and neat, but I managed to control myself!  Here's the proof:

By the time we got finished working on our animal projects, I said, "Doesn't look we are going to have time to do science, grammar, or spelling today."  And then . . . another realization.  WE JUST DID science, grammar, and spelling.  DUH!  I guess sometimes I get so focused on the curriculum that we are using that I have a hard time getting/thinking outside of the box.  Do you know what I mean?

Here they are presenting:

What a sweet bunch of third graders!

In the first grade class that I teach, we had a guest speaker today . . . A FIREFIGHTER!  (It is Fire Prevention/Safety Month you know!) The kids were super excited!

I hope that you have had a great week!  Don't forget to leave me some book suggestions and then hop on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers See Jamie Blog to see what everybody else has been up to this week!