Herding Turtles

SUPER SORTERS: I decided to leave the workbooks on the shelf this morning and have the kids do some "real world" math. And let me tell you, it doesn't get any more real than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :)

I grabbed a backpack full of action figures (saved from Rick and Ken's youth) and dumped them on the dining table. I asked the kids to think of different ways they could sort them. They came up with "Villains" and "Good Guys" immediately. Other obvious categories were the Turtles themselves (we have multiple variations of Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Donatello).

So they separated them into the preset categories. They had to call a big brother for a consult at one point. It took Ken awhile to figure out what CJ was talking about when he asked, "Is the panda from Ninja Turtles a good guy or a bad guy?"

With the sorting done, it was time to take inventory. While one counted items in a group aloud, the other recorded that count using tally marks in a table. When that was done, they (without prompting!) started analyzing the data, noting which category they had the most of (villains), and even which of the Turtles they had the most (Michelangelo) and the least (Raphael) of.

Of course, all this hands-on Turtle action led to a protracted play session with the figures afterward.

We did return to the table in the late afternoon for some reading comprehension practice. Together the kids read a few fact-filled paragraphs about sharks and then answered some multiple choice questions.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: We combined Kirby's midday walk with a neighborly deed- taking a piece of mail (it looked to be a card) that had accidentally delivered to us down to a neighbor's place. It was a good chance to reinforce the importance of knowing how to read an address, and helping improve CJ & Annabelle's sense of direction.

The address was for a house on 22nd Avenue, so as we approached street signs, I had the kids look for 22nd Avenue. Once we found that, we checked house numbers. CJ immediately deduced which direction to head, which I thought was cool. Mission accomplished.

ON TOP OF MAGNOLIA: We finally got together with preschool pal Connor today. We haven't seen him in awhile, so it was a happy reunion. The kids tore around Ella Bailey Park for over an hour. It was sunny but c-c-cold because of a brisk wind. But the sun and sky-scouring wind made for a even-better-than-usual view.

They slid, they climbed, they swung, they Star Wars-ed (that's a verb, isn't it?).

Click on the Mt. Rainier (or any photo) for a larger view.