24.11.11

Reading and Writing

At the library

Book Reports

Book Reports

Working on a car trip! 
This month is going by quickly!

14.11.11

Geometry and Marshmallows

I got this idea from a math workshop we attended- Intent on 'buying myself some peace and quiet' I went to the dollar store and for two dollars picked up a bag of marshmallows (in this case chocolate?!) and a box of toothpicks-



The idea is to try and recreate as many two and three dimensional shapes as possible.
Then count how many sides the shape has and how many angles.
Constructing three dimensional shapes uses math manipulative's to give a clear sense of the faces, vertices's and edges of a shape. 

Try and make (2 Dimensional) 
Square
Rectangle
Triangle
Hexagon

Try and make (3 Dimensional) 
Cube
Rectangular Prism
Triangular Prism
Square Pyramid

By the end it was a free for all creative project that involved making intergalactic space ships.
One word of advice is to open the package of marshmallows prior to using them to give them the opportunity to dry out and harden a bit- 

5.11.11

Math Workshop

We went to a Math Workshop this week.  Again the instructor was able to cater to several age groups while explaining math number concepts to the kids.




The use of manipulative and games is a great way to make the children enjoy learning math concept



The teacher suggested several books which we subsequently checked out of our local library- 
They are all by the same author David Schwartz and the monkeys and I find them well written and informative. 



4.11.11

Halloween

Monkey One went as a Zombie Soldier, Monkey Two went as a Harlem Globetrotter
I found a AMAZING vintage Harlem Globetrotter shirt at my local second hand shop for 4 bucks- SCORE!

My mom made these beautiful candy bags for the boys- She sewed the bags then make custom appliqué 

We got together with two other families for a Halloween Chili Pot luck- I made corn bread
and our host had these delicious cookies for the adults. 
A post trick or treat pose

One of the highlights of my night was the kids auctioning and trading their candy afterwards.

And the next day the monkeys organized their candy by type-
We then counted and graphed them- everything is a lesson!


Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!