Michaelmas

Color of the Day: Red or Pink 
Today's Focus: Mindfulness 
Grain of the Day: Barley

Breakfast - waffles w/  honey, banana slices, milk, orange juice, coffee for me and vitamins
Morning Snack - mini dragon breads (see today's activity) and red smoothies made with frozen strawberries, a banana, orange juice, and ice cubes
Lunch - chips and salsa, cheddar cheese, apple juice or iced water
Tea Time and Afternoon Snack - a cold afternoon meant the first hot cocoa of the season w/ marshmallows and some more dragon bread w/ butter & honey
Dinner - chicken noodle soup, the last of the dragon bread, cranberry sauce, ice water

Seasons Round Autumn Exchange ... Look at me over here totally waiting until the last day to show & share the wonderful goodies we got in our package from Lou. Weren't we completely spoiled?  That beautiful felted backdrop looks so lovely in our nature corner and the wee little apple, mushroom, and acorn!  Oh, it was so much fun opening out box and discovering these joys!

 Thank you, Lou!  

The kids and I love them all (Max has actually adopted the little acorn and it is usually in his pocket or his backpack) and they bring lots of joy and seasonal spirit to our nature corner.

Morning Circle - (see Monday's Circle)

Sixth Sense Math (EARTHschooling) - TWO Today we talked about the sense of TOUCH and two.  We talked about the things that you can feel in twos like your heartbeat, a hug where you touch the front & the back of a person, picking up a bag with 2 handles and using your 2 hands and 2 arms, giving a kiss with your 2 lips, touching 2 sides of a piece of paper when you pick it up, etc.


Science/Nature Study - today we went outside to see what we could see ...

 

 

After we came back indoors, I asked Jillian to tell me a little bit about what she sensed when we were outside.

• What did it LOOK like outside? "Sunny.  It was bright."
  
• What did it FEEL like? "Very chilly.  I needed some socks and a jacket."
  
• SOUND like? "Trees leaves rustling.  I didn't hear any crickets today."
  
• SMELL like? "It still smells like dirt and tomatoes outside.  And a little bit like leaves."
  

And then we drew in our Nature Notebooks some of the things we had observed outside.  Jillian drew in her notebook and I drew in mine (and Max and Lucy colored pictures beside us)

Activity - for Michaelmas we made mini-dragons out of bread dough (which I will totally admit to "cheating" and using the kind that comes in a tube at the grocery store).  We shaped them into tiny dragons, baked them, and ate them for our morning snack with butter and honey.

(okay, you may have to use  your imagination a little bit)

Main Lesson: Dragons and Michaelmas - after lunch, while Max & Lucy napped, Jillian and I worked on her main lesson for the week.

• today is Michaelmas and we discussed briefly what that means
• I asked Jillian to retell the story of The Most Beautiful Dragon in the World from yesterday
  
• I read her the book Saint George and the Dragon
• we shaped dragons out of beeswax
• practiced handwriting & spelling in her Language Arts main lesson book on "sky & grass" lined paper
  

Well, I had more to say, but I think I've hogged up enough internet space for one evening.  And, can you tell I got batteries in the camera?  I'm all shutterbuggy today!  (and am totally going to be teased for taking a picture of our little bread dragons by my husband once he sees this)

I hope everyone had a beautiful Michaelmas today ...

Best Wishes,
Kara

PS - regarding EARTHschooling:  I'm a year 'round member on the monthly payment plan.  I signed up last April and we've been lovin' it!  I know the website has undergone some major changes and it takes a little getting used to since it is so different, but I actually love it and am finding it really user friendly.  It just takes a few moments to get started and get oriented.  Hope that answers your questions!