Fall/Autumn, Homeschool Stylz

We did a bunch of fall craft and activities to usher in the season :)

 
First we built ourselves a scarecrow in a pumpkin patch, out of colored construction paper and cut-outs I had gotten from Dollar Tree over the years..

and learned all about pumpkins. Yes, gotta love them visual aids.
 
We also learnt some songs and rhymes, and you managed to remember all the words to "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" better than I could :)

and made an apple print tree!  You had been asking me for a while now, to do potato prints, and I thought that making an apple print tree would be quite fitting for the season. I drew some templates for the tree trunk and leaves, and you painted them in.
 
As for a Jack-O-Lantern, you drew a face on a little pumpkin that we had, and I did the carving. I had gotten a set of little flickering LED lamps for this very purpose.  You were so excited to turn off the light to see the glowing face. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of it before it got mouldy. Bleh.

We also decorated a window with Halloween gel clings.

Meanwhile, we Columbus Day came up and we learnt a little bit about him as well. 

Multiculturalism

I come from a country with several main ethnic groups, and we have many different public holidays that celebrate that diversity.

Today, we learnt about Diwali, or as I called it back in Malaysia, Deepavali.

We didn't go in depth into the whole celebration, but touched a little bit on the different aspects of it.   We did some activities to go along with it, and all in all, I think it was a pretty good introduction to the celebration. You had a lot of questions, as we had never touched on Diwali before, and I tried to answer them to the best of my ability.  We also looked at information on several websites and watched a couple of videos online to learn a little bit more.

Rangoli Art ala Chalk Pastels

Tracing our hands and feet and attempting some Mehndi/ Henna Art

Jaxon Jaxon Pumpkin Rider

We were at United Supermarkets tonight and came across the hugest pumpkin of the season not counting the record breaking one at the fair.  Of course we had to jump on to it and take pictures. And you being the great  big ham that you are, had to pose in hammy ways.

Catching up with September

Okay, so here's a glimpse of September with our precious little boy :)

We did all kinds of things during Homeschool - at least I try to make sure we do a bunch of different things.

I even violated my own "no glitter" rule, and made glitter-filled Space Play Doh when we were doing our Outer Space and Planets unit.

And of course, being homeschooled, attire doesn't really matter :)

For a few weeks, we went back in time, to the time of the early pioneers up to the early 1900's.  So we read and watched "Charlie needs a cloak" as well, to help illustrate having to go back to the basics and doing things from scratch, from what you have in nature.

We read and learned from Donald Hall's Ox Cart Man,

 

 Patricia MacLachlan's Three Names, and several others.

And yes, I know there are days when I can get a smidgen too demanding, and you feel frustrated,



but most days you are just the sweetest little boy and a model student. Whenever you do well, or are able to work a math problem out, and I tell you how proud I am, you never fail to get this big smile and give me the biggest neck hugs you can muster. :)




Once again, we don't really have a dress code :) Can you guess by now who you want to be this Halloween?



You have also rekindled your love for drawing and art. A year ago or so, you would wake up and the first thing you would do was start drawing. I tried to make sure we always had some paper on hand for you. Well, a couple of months ago, you decided you wanted to draw again. On a daily basis, several times a day. :) Even at church!



AND you love to read. Put you in a bookstore or library, and you get lost in your own little world, reading and reading.



Your reading skills are just mind blowing. I wouldn't be surprised if you tested at 3rd or 4th grade, even, when it comes to reading.

And, little boys being little boys, LOVE muddy puddles AND their daddy's big cowboy hats :)





We love you immensely, little boy.

I know he gets refered to as "Uncle Walter", but...

Hey, it's cousin Walter :)

He says that you look like you think he's about to steal something from you :)

Little Friends

A month ago or so, while we were shopping at the Filipino Store, we bumped into Sokol, Kareena's mom.  She invited us to Kareena's birthday party, which was last weekend, out at their place by Lake Fort Phantom.

No, they don't live in the RV, I just thought it was a cool shot.

We had been to her birthday party last year, along with Cindy, and kinda knew what to expect.

She had a beautiful custom made Frozen cake - which once again, you didn't have a chance to taste because we had to leave before the cake-cutting.

I accompanied you into the house, far from the madding crowd, and you had quite the time, making friends with this other little boy, and wrestling with a Bengal Tiger. :)

 

 

As for the birthday girl herself, the kids were constantly on the move, I didn't get a good picture of her, but this will have to suffice for now :)