Skeletons and spiders

Last year, we were part of a local co-op that stopped during the summer. The mom that ran it was not planning on restarting it for this semester, very much to our disappointment. So we did without...... (It was sad because my kids always had so much fun there. Coqui had a (boy) friend there, and Peanut opened up so much there, just by watching everyone else.

Because we wanted to stay friends with her and her kids, occasional play dates took place over the summer, and on one of those a few weeks ago, she invited us back to her house. So for the past two weeks, we are back at our co-op - and we are very happy about that.

Due to the fact that 'some' families celebrate Halloween, our themes have been skeletons and spiders. First week, we talked about the different parts of the human skeleton and its functions. We read a book and did a craft.

Coqui's skeleton made out of different kinds of noodles

Peanut's skeleton

For our second week, we started ASL with the kids - which they really liked. They learned the entire alphabet in sign language. Even Miss Peanut stayed focused enough to learn a few letters herself.
Then we read a story. That was followed by several art and science projects. At the end, we did Spanish.

Make a spider out of cotton swabs and Styrofoam ball

Make a spider web out of rubber bands, and then out of strong and straws, and in the back yard out of some fabric material. They had lots of fun doing it.

I can not tell you how happy I am to be back at her house and do fun learning together with our friends. Her and her husband are great teachers. Her kids love my kids, they get along very well (most of the time). And we always include recess, and if we can't go outside, we do music with dancing inside. It's so wonderful to be back there. 

Science Co-op and Science at home

This week at the co-op, we discovered the three states of matter. You know: solid, liquid and gas. The kids were excited and yet they all sat still listening to the teacher. Very exciting.

So when the teacher started to explain what the three states are, my son had something to say:

"I know all about gas already!" He exclaimed. "My mom is taking gas with her car all the time."
Just writing this I am cracking up, it's so funny. Do you want to know that at the time, I was in the bathroom, so I only heard it through the door, trying not to giggle too loud. I wish I could have seen the teacher's face....

Okay, moving on..... when you are done laughing. After the lesson and a story, we went over to the art center in order to make goo. The teacher used water and cornstarch - and for the 'Halloween-y' effect, they added green color to it.

Can I mention on a side note, that I am so glad that this is not happening at my house!? The teacher is a real trooper in my eyes, having ten to fifteen kids in her house each week, making a mess, sometimes small and sometimes big! But the kids loved it, of course.

When all done, and the goo was suppose to be put away, one of the boys from the class played with Coqui's goo, and of course, spilled it all over the table. So not only did he make a mess, but worse for my son, Coqui couldn't bring his goo home to show to Daddy. Bummer.

After recess, in Art, they made a spooky forest out of shaving cream and, again, green color. It is suppose to harden - but it was still way too wet by the time we had to leave, so we are gonna pick it up next week.

This was all yesterday, so today, I thought, I will just go over it again, maybe then it will 'stick' better. Also, he wanted to have his own goo at home. So to work we went...

I only had neon green. This is with cornstarch again. We also tried to see what would happen with baking soda, and made it pink. (for anybody that cares, baking soda doesn't combine well with water, it stays on the bottom of the container and the water is 'floating' above it.)

It was actually alot of fun for Mami as well.

Trilingual Summer

As you all know, we are home schooling.

So I had been looking for a support group near us for quiet a long time. Finally, I found something, that is not that near us. But for now, it works great. It's a group of families that have children under the age of 9! It's perfect for us for right now - just what we needed. They are at somewhat the same level we are - new to homeschooling, with younger siblings. So they do understand when Peanut blabbers while the class is in session; when Coqui can't sit still or screams out his answers instead of raising his hand and wait to be called; they understand.

So during the summer, we stopped doing school for a little while, but we are part of a co-op that teaches Art and Spanish, something that is less school-ish and a bit more fun!

The Art class can get a little wild at times, because these are all children between 3 and 8, with one teacher and a few parents to help out. She only does one project per week, so the kids don't get overwhelmed, and neither do the parents. There is a theme that mostly goes for Art and Spanish. She reads a book that goes with the theme and teaches a few words in Sign language. It's amazing how all these kids are actually listening to her! (At least for my kids!) Then they go to the class room and do the art work. One week, they made a lion's head because it was wild animal week. Then yesterday, they 'build' an ocean in a glass.

After Art, it's recess. The kids can eat a snack, the parents chat, and we are all mostly outside, so the kids can run around to release some their energy. We've been doing this now for a little while and I have gotten to know some of the ladies and it's an interesting mix of people, cultures and nations. We can all learn from each other and get some advise if we need it. Coqui has made two boy friends that are his age and older (because his two best friends so far are both girls!) - so that'll be good for him. Peanut is not adjusting this easily, she is still mostly sitting on my lap, but she is getting better when we go outside.

Then we got to Spanish. The teacher goes over the stuff that we learned already, like the alphabet and letters and recently colors. The kids are definitely getting better at memorizing the vocabulary - but then again they are still so young. Then the theme is mostly the same, so when we had forest animals in Art, she did camping in Spanish. When we did a fish activity in Art, the kids went fishing in Spanish.

Coqui knew some Spanish before, like the numbers, but they seem to stick now a bit better. He has learned so many other words. It's great. He is so compliant when it comes to repeating words over and over - I love it! But what is even more amazing than that, it's that he now asks me all the time: "Mami, if leche is Spanish for milk, what is it in German?" What? Coqui, you are asking me that question? Hallelujah! He used to tell me not to talk to him 'like that' - meaning not in German. Now he is asking? This is awesome! And I am taking FULL advantage of it. Believe me, right now, he only hears English from his Daddy or his friends - I am all in German.
And another thing happened over the last few weeks: Peanut is now starting to listen in Spanish and repeating the words! Wow. It doesn't come out all that clear, but my little dare-devil is willing to repeat without me asking for it! I love it. Maybe, I guess, peer pressure is working better on her? Just kidding. I think it's just natural for her to join the 'choir' of children when they repeat after the teacher. She is just copying what all the others are doing already. Her favorite word is (to no surprise) zapato, which means shoe - my little shoe-obsessed princess!

Unfortunately, we won't be going for the next three weeks, as we are departing for vacations, but I sure hope to get back to it once we are back in town. The teacher wasn't sure how to manage her own three kids (including a tiny baby) when her husband has to go back to teaching in a real school. So we are working on a schedule once school is back in session, so I am praying that it will work out for us, this group was such a blessing for us, we don't want to lose them!