the girls had a great time catching a jar full the other night.
We have SO many in the woods behind our place. I was determined (but sadly failed) to get a picture of them all (or at least one!) flashing around. Those little guys don't like to stay still and let my camera focus in the dark though! I think I need a little more practice (and maybe a few tips on taking quick pictures in low light). I'm sure the girls won't mind going out again!
I can't believe that we're only a week into May because April already seems like it was so long ago. Our extra focus for the month was plants. We studied and read a lot about different types of flowers and trees and what they need to grow, and they got in some practice by planting some flowers outside with one of our neighbors. They also made a 3D version of a flower and labeled its parts.
Of course, we had to do the old "flowers in colored water trick," and they enjoyed watching the flowers change colors as they soaked up the water. We also "dissected" some of the stems to get a look inside.
The green turned out the best.
Thanks to an idea from pinterest, we planted lima beans in cd cases, so we could watch them sprout and grow roots. Problem is, the only thing they grew was some fuzzy green stuff. Still not sure why that didn't work.....
One LOVES to get her hands dirty, the other can't stand it!
Kerri learned how to write her name in cursive (and learned how to spell her whole name because I didn't even realize she didn't know how to spell Elizabeth!). Here's one of her first attempts:
We took advantage of some Easter candy to help out with some math problems. (Well, Kerri did. Emma Lee insisted that she didn't need anything to "help" but she did enjoy eating them!)
We are also still putting our math towers to good use. I can't believe that they haven't gotten tired of them yet, but they really love them.
In grammar, they learned about common and proper nouns, singular and plural nouns, and seven rules of capitalization. We had fun playing some different learning games (their favorite kind - ones that double up as a snack!) to help us practice these.
They also got in some practice constructing sentences following a certain pattern and then changing some of the words by replacing them with synonyms and antonyms.
I found a wonderful free reading program (sponsored by Sylvan) called Book Adventure. You read a book, take a quiz, and earn points to exchange for prizes. Go check it out! The girls love it!
Hard to believe we only have a few weeks of school left in the year! Summertime, here we come!
Not super great ones, but I'm trying to focus on the fact that we are all in one picture together and not on the fact that I wasn't behind the camera getting things just "right." I got two this month: One slightly disheveled after church on Easter look and one of our new favorite evening ritual: cuddled up and watching Andy Griffith. (Emma Lee recently asked me if the world used to be all in black and white. Funny thing is Andy and I both remember having that same thought as a kid.)
Last year, Andy and I attended our first marriage retreat. We really enjoyed it and made the decision to make it a yearly habit - in some form/fashion. This year, we planned out a kind of DIY (do it yourself for those of you not addicted to pinterest or home improvement shows) retreat, and we enjoyed it even more! Andy covered some of the highlights and details in his post here, so I won't repeat it. We decided in advance to both separately read through Tim Keller's The Meaning of Marriage, so we planned out four specific times throughout our weekend to discuss the book and our marriage.
I decided to take my camera along almost everywhere to take pictures. Other than our honeymoon pictures (from 9 1/2 years ago!), we have very few pictures of us doing things together (minus the kiddos). I thought when we're old(er) and gray(er), we'll appreciate them - haha. Here are a few of our "outings":
Getting some house ideas for this summer when we have a new place to decorate/live in (and eating some yummy cinnamon rolls, of course!)
Enjoying a beautiful park
Yummy meal at a favorite place
First time at the Fox, and we definitely were not disappointed!! Amazing place - amazing performance!
Another favorite place to eat
Enjoyed a funny improv show
Underwhelmed by Underground Atlanta, but we found one place worthy of going in!
I realize what a blessing it is to be married to my best friend, and I thank God every day for the marriage and family He has given to me. We both fully believe that any marriage - no matter how strong - needs work/time/attention. We also believe that marriages do not get strong/stay strong on their own. Just like any other relationship, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Also, no matter how much I love my girls and how much I want to include them in everything we do, I know that the best gifts I can give them is parents who have a great marriage and an example that marriage should be a priority. It might take some extra effort, planning, sacrifices, etc., but the benefits far outweigh all of that.
Wow, I just realized that I never posted my March update. Here it is - better late than never! March was the month of field trips for us! Our special focus was on animals, and we went on four field trips to get up close and personal with as many different types of animals as we could! First, we learned about the different categories of animals and what characteristics are common for each category. Our field trip to an animal show at the science museum supported our learning of these categories.
We also took a field trip to the Go Fish Education Center a short distance away. With 100 other homeschoolers going, I was a little nervous that things were going to be too chaotic and hectic, but the people there did a wonderful job, and it was an excellent experience. We all gathered together in a large room to watch a short introductory video, and then we were split into 3 groups to take turns participating in the 3 separate areas. First up for our group was fishing (using hot dog bait and real hooks!) in a well-stocked pond. Even though people were catching fish left and right all around us, somehow, neither girl managed to pull one in.
(I have to admit that I was kind of ok with that. I could just see Kerri becoming the next "Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish" kind of story!)
After our fishing time was up, our group rotated to the classroom to learn about fish and reptiles. Then we transitioned to the aquarium/fish hatchery part to get an up-close look at different GA fish.
We also visited the zoo and had lots of adventures at a drive through "safari" and petting zoo place.
The girls were given the assignment of choosing one animal each, researching it, and giving a report on it. Kerri quickly chose tigers, and Emma Lee eventually settled on zebras. They read books, took their own notes, prepared a poster, and gave us a little report. They really got into the whole thing, worked hard, and did such a great job!
In other school news, the girls learned about prepositions, prepositional phrases, and objects of a preposition. We're still adding new prepositions, but they've really caught onto it. We did a fun "scavenger" hunt all around the house. After they found their prizes, we took the clues and identified all the prepositions in them. I took a video, but it's pretty long, so I'll spare you! Emma Lee has learned every letter in cursive and does a great job reading and writing almost anything in cursive. Everything else has been a lot of review and making sure that they really know what we've learned throughout the year.
We also took a week (almost, one day was one of our field trips, so I counted that day) of spring break even though I hadn't planned on it. One Monday, I planned a fun day full of Cherry Blossom festival stuff with the girls and told them we didn't have school because it was our spring break. They were excited, and we had fun. Tuesday morning comes, and I tell them to go downstairs - it's time for school - and they about had a fit. They insisted that it was spring break, and I said, "No, that was just yesterday." Somehow they knew (and insisted!) that spring break is supposed to last a whole week - not just one day, so I gave in (and enjoyed the break myself by doing a little sewing project!). We've had a great year, but I'm already looking forward to a summer break!
Another tooth lost in the Johnson household tonight! I guess it's getting to be old news around here because Kerri just paused and said, "Oh, I lost my tooth" in such a normal voice that I didn't even believe her enough to turn around and look!
