A Summer-like Day at the Beach in March

Last week we were enjoying record setting high temperatures in the mid-80s!  We spent one of those summer-like days at the beach after Grace's ballet class.  How could we not!?!!  This week March in Maine has returned with temperatures nearly 50 degrees colder than they were last week.  We even have had a little snow.  It is all good but that little taste of summer was such a welcome treat!  Here are some pictures from our glorious day at the beach in March.

Planting Grass Seed in Eggshells

Grace remembered planting grass seed inside eggshells two years ago for an Easter activity (click here and here) and she asked if she could do this activity again.  Yes, indeed!  

Grace cracked a dozen eggs, carefully washed out the shells and filled each egg with soil.  Grace covered the tops of the soil with cat grass (wheat grass) seeds.

 I love how pretty this planting project looks on our window sill.  Grace has been watering her seeds for the past two days.  All we need now is for some sunshine to help our little seedlings sprout!

 

Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3 (!)

Grace, Jack and Eve made Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3 from Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat by painting their hands.  It is amazing what three little pairs of hands can do?!

A Spring Hike Through the Woods

On the first day of spring last Tuesday I took Eve and Jack on hike through the woods to look for signs of spring while Grace was at school.  Here are some pictures from our hike ...

Spring Cherry Blossoms

To celebrate the beginning of spring last week we made these spring cherry blossoms using a water bottle!  We dipped the bottom of one of my seltzer water bottles into pink paint and used it as a stamp to create the cherry blossom flowers.  We hung our spring trees in our entryway.

Our computer issue is fixed!!!  I'll be posting pictures from our beautiful first week of spring tomorrow.  I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

W is for Watermelon.

 W is for watermelon.

I am still having issues with downloading my photos from yesterday so here is a letter activity that Jack did last week.  One of Jack's favorite musical artists is named Billy Jonas.  Billy Jonas performed at Middlebury's Festival on the Green many years ago and this is how we were first introduced to his music.  The only music that Jack requests right now is Billy Jonas (and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music).  One of Jack's favorite Billy Jonas songs is called Watermelon.  Jack was SO excited to make a watermelon for the letter W.  He glued black beans on for the watermelon seeds. Jack also asked to have a big bite cut out of his watermelon slice!

Hello, Spring!

Daddy, Jack & Eve

Grace

Eve

Jack

I was hoping to share our first day of spring activity in a post tonight but I am having some issues downloading pictures onto our computer.  I'll leave you with some pictures from our time at Pine Point Beach on Sunday until I fix the computer issue.  

With temperatures approaching 80 degrees later this week I am hoping to take Grace, Jack and Eve back to the beach several more times this week to celebrate our beautiful first week of spring.  

The Children's Museum of Maine is ranked one of the nation's best!

Hip, hip hooray for the Children's Museum of Maine!  Our museum was rated one of the nation's top 12 children's museums' on Forbes.com.  You can click here to read about the museum that we love so much too!  We visit the Children's Museum of Maine every Wednesday and we have been going there every week since Grace was eight months old!

Sunday at Pine Point Beach

Thumbprint Shamrocks

Happy St. Patrick's Day

A Dr. Seuss Handprint Activity

We are working on part II of our Dr. Seuss handprint activity this afternoon.  More pictures to come.  

Have a lovely weekend!

RightStart Mathematics

"Mommy, can we do math now?'  I hear this several times a day from my math loving girl!  Grace has always loved numbers.  Since the age of one, Grace has had a strong mathematical knowledge base.  I really wanted to foster Grace's love of learning and her love of math so I investigated many, many math programs that I could use to continue to teach Grace at home.  After lots of research I decide on a program called RightStart Mathematics.  My main objective was for Grace to fully understand math and numbers since 95% of math should be understood and only 5% learned by rote.  This program emphasizes patterns and reasoning over memorization and algorithms.  I also wanted to be fully involved in the program and RightStart Mathematics is heavily parent driven.  Grace and I cherish this time we spend together every day.  Since starting this program several months ago, Grace has learned to count in a whole new way.  We typically count 10, 11, 12, 13 and so on, which really does not give a child an idea about tens and ones.  Grace has learned to count by saying ten-1, ten-2, ten-3 for the teens and 2-ten and 1, 2-ten and 2, 2-ten and 3, etc. for the twenties and so on.  In the pictures above, Grace is using tally sticks to show the answer to an addition equation (9 + 4).  Grace has learned to add numbers together easily by grouping -- e.g., talking a 1 from the 4 and putting it with the 9 to make 10 and 3 or 13!  I love how Grace is learning to add numbers together by fully understanding how it is done rather than relying on counting strategies or simply by memorizing the answers.      

Grace has also loved learning how to use this special abacus, which is based on fives and tens.  By grouping fives it has taught Grace to think of ten as a unit.  She has also learned how to add two digit numbers together using her abacus.  It is a great learning tool.

Grace loves using her geoboard.  Grace has also enjoyed learning about parallel and perpendicular lines and planes, geometric solids, and the Tens Fractal!  I continue to be amazed with Grace's knowledge but I am most proud of her deep love of learning.