Egypt, Animals, Road Trip

We had a wonderful winter 'break' from schooling as we leisurely read, worked on art projects, cleaned and re-organized and re-arranged bedrooms, played outside a lot and visited with family.

Egypt

This last week both of the children have found a love for Egypt. They couldn't check enough books out at the library! We have some more on hold, so we'll continue this study next week as well since both children are so involved in it. Mummies, tombs, ancient times, fun and interesting stuff!

 The game 'Pharaoh' which we already had takes place in ancient Egypt where the children both create their own Egyptian family and they have to learn about society then, they build the city are responsible for businesses, have to buy/trade and earn money- it is an all inclusive game that teaches them many important skills, which they have both enjoyed!  Our son is crazy for maps, so we spent time reading his mummy book which documents where 'natural' mummies were found all over the world, so we spent a long time talking about other countries, distances, rivers, oceans.

We also used youtube for full length documentaries about Egypt from National Geographic and the History Channel:  The Pyramid Code

We played some Egyptian games found here: Learning how the mummifying process works: Egyptian Learning Games

Next week we'll be continuing to read our books, learn more about 'business' math/money  with their game and look for facts and truths found when for fun watching 'The Mummy' movie!

Animals

Preparing for a show this weekend, both of the kids have spent time studying their animals. Our daughter spent time researching and writing up a paper about each of her breeds of chickens. She also drew pictures and memorized facts. They both worked on parts of chickens and ducks. They also attended a showmanship clinic, dressed in their show clothes and practiced with their animals. We also discussed cold weather temperatures and ways to keep the animals warm.

Road Trip Fun

During road trips we used to have tv screens and plucked in a movie or several movies depending on the drive length, I'm not opposed to movie time but wanted to make that time spent more meaningful, an experience, a learning time, just fun togetherness- So, the last big trip, we traveled 10 hours and made it without any tv- We checked out books on CD and music from the Library and we played 'car' games on the road trip as well. So this trip, following suit, we checked out the following book on CD- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (which is my daughters all time favorite story and she wanted to share with her brother who has never heard it) and a new music CD...only a 4 hour drive so we should be good!

Tonight its fun with 4H, practice, fun with friends, packing then to bed somewhat early....and tomorrow after I go on a short work trip meeting we'll be on our way for a 3 day weekend of fun in a town we've never ventured to for the kids animal show. We love road trips, seeing new places, experiencing fun, meeting new friends.

We hope this weekend finds you on a new adventure as well!