Mixing Colors

Color wheel we made

This week we learned about primary and secondary colors.  We mixed paints to create secondary colors and other colors such as brown and gray.

Books:  Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book by Edwards

Reference Books:  Painting: A young artist's guide by Waters & Harris

Trains

Rail and road system Ian built

Ian and Eric spend hours playing trains.  They design track layouts, drive trains, build trains with blocks, and even couple themselves with clothes hangers and chug around the house.  The boys enjoy watching Thomas the Tank Engine and retelling the stories to me.  Favorite train related vocabulary words include buffer, siding, couple, and shunting.

Books:  Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story by Awdry;  Terrific Trains by Mitton;  The Little Engine That Could Giant Lift-and-Learn Book by Piper

Bicycling to the Library

We often bicycle to our public library; Ian rides his own bike and Eric rides in the bike trailer.  The distance to the library from our house is a little over a mile and includes a few hills.  Our route includes riding on neighbourhood streets, side-walks, and bicycle lanes.  Ian is learning about road signs, traffic rules, bicycle safety, and bicycle maintenance.  We often stop to observe interesting things (e.g. construction, barn mailbox, and a Weinermobile).

Books:  Duck on a Bike by Shannon;  Getting Around By Bicycle by Mayer;  Bicycle Book by Gibbons

Flying Frogs

Ian and Eric's favorite puppet show is an adaptation of the book Tuesday, in which frogs are able to fly on their lily pads one Tuesday night.  The boys also love to jump like frogs and play the "Winter Sleepers" game (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas, pg 90).  Ian can describe the life cycle of frogs.

Books:  What Is a Frog? by Darby;  Froggie Went A-Courting by Priceman;   From Tadpole to Frog by Pfeffer;  Tuesday by Wiesner

Riding on the Bus

Eric sleeping through the moment of silence for Joe Paterno

Ian and Eric have been riding on city buses since they were babies.  We practice reading bus schedules/maps and telling time.  We discuss how planners decide when and where buses stop.  We also discuss the advantages/disadvantages of the transportation options we use (bus, car, bicycle, walking, and occasionally airplane).

Ian was puzzled when I told him we can get to the library faster by bicycle than bus.  He understood when I explained that although buses travel faster than bikes, the bike route is more direct than the bus route.

My favorite  on-the-bus conversation was when Ian and Eric were discussing whether it's easier to back up a city bus or a garbage truck and the passenger in front of us joined the conversation.  They decided a garbage truck is shorter and therefore easier to back up.

Books:   Telling Time with Diego by Bergen

Airports

Today we flew from Dallas, Texas to State College, Pennsylvania with a layover in Washington DC.  At the airport, the boys observed the following vehicles:  baggage truck, food truck, fuel truck, de-icer truck, fire engine, security vehicle, shuttle bus, propeller plane, and jet plane.  They also learned about airport security and airplane boarding procedures.

Ian enjoyed looking out the window of the plane and identifying things from above.  Arriving by plane was a great way to see the unique ridge and valley topography of central Pennsylvania.

Books:  A Day at the Airport by Scarry;  Amazing Airplanes by Mitton;  Planes (Eye Openers) by Royston

Videos:  Mighty Machines: Roadways to Runways

Winnie-the-Pooh

Ian is obsessed with the Winnie-the-Pooh chapter books.  For the past month, I have been reading two chapters per day out loud.  Ian also listens to audio recordings of the books.  We made special bookmarks with an appropriate story picture for each book.  Both of the boys make daily references to the Pooh stories.  They talk about visiting the Five Pine Trees, Pooh Corner, and Ian Corner when they play outside.  Some of their favorite phrases are "Bother", "Ow! Hot!", and "Silly Mama (old Bear)".

Books:  Winnie-the-Pooh by Milne;  The House at Pooh Corner by Milne;  Return the the Hundred Acre Wood by Benedictus