Image: NASA - Kennedy at the aptly named Kennedy Space Center, 1962 ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU: Fifty years ago today, John F. Kennedy was sworn into office as our 35th president.
It occurred to me that CJ and Annabelle might not even know who Kennedy was - or realize that's whom their big brother Kennedy is named after! So, we were definitely due for a quick lesson in JFK.
Fortunately, BrainPop had a bio of him, so we started there. Afterward, we watched some excerpts from Kennedy's inaugural address thanks to a History.com video. (I wanted the kids to see and hear the actual JFK instead of just his cartoon image and other people talking about him.)
Once that was over, I spied a link to the right to a video about the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was mentioned in the BrainPop video. Since that was a Really Big Deal, I thought we'd check out the video. Told by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis, it was quirky, but it kept the kids' attention, so you can't argue with results. :)
MORE HUNTING: We were back out and about today in search of supplies for the kids' expo projects. We needed to find paint for CJ's Mecha Yoshi and we were also hoping to find some props for the mini Yoshi in Mecha Yoshi - specifically a small plastic computer. Where would one find such a thing? Archie McPhee, of course! It took some looking, but we found the perfect props amongst their bins and bins of weird plastic imports. And only 75 cents!
It occurred to me that CJ and Annabelle might not even know who Kennedy was - or realize that's whom their big brother Kennedy is named after! So, we were definitely due for a quick lesson in JFK.
Fortunately, BrainPop had a bio of him, so we started there. Afterward, we watched some excerpts from Kennedy's inaugural address thanks to a History.com video. (I wanted the kids to see and hear the actual JFK instead of just his cartoon image and other people talking about him.)
Once that was over, I spied a link to the right to a video about the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was mentioned in the BrainPop video. Since that was a Really Big Deal, I thought we'd check out the video. Told by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis, it was quirky, but it kept the kids' attention, so you can't argue with results. :)
MORE HUNTING: We were back out and about today in search of supplies for the kids' expo projects. We needed to find paint for CJ's Mecha Yoshi and we were also hoping to find some props for the mini Yoshi in Mecha Yoshi - specifically a small plastic computer. Where would one find such a thing? Archie McPhee, of course! It took some looking, but we found the perfect props amongst their bins and bins of weird plastic imports. And only 75 cents!
SNACK ATTACK: While we were out today, the kids spied more damn circus peanuts and immediately obsessed over them. I knew how to solve it. I bought them.
When we got home, I wasn't long in opening them. I took a whiff when the bag opened and said the first thing that came to my mind: "It smells like banana barf."
CJ was quick to conclude that's what it tasted like, too. "We've decided that circus peanuts are NOT for us!" He declared shortly before spitting his in the toilet.Probably just to be contrary, Annabelle tried to convince herself she liked the circus peanut. She carried it around for awhile and would nibble on it now and then. I don't know if she finished the thing or not.
SPELLING: A few days ago I saw a video of a teacher working with her class on spelling words that end in ING. I decided to copy her. :)I asked the kids to come up with "ing" words, and when they did, decide whether you spell the word by doubling the letter at the end, dropping the e, or doing nothing other than adding -ing. For instance hit is a doubler - hitTing. Smile is a drop e - smiling. And so on.
For the last word, I tricked them with skiing. They both got it wrong, which is what I was expecting. But I bet they remember next time!PROJECTING: More work on the Yoshi's tonight. Annabelle sculpted and glued in Yoshi's skeletal schnoz, and did some work on his/her/its innards.
We also made the first cut into CJ's Yoshi tonight and spent a lot of time talking design. CJ is adamant that he wants the jaw/faceplate to hinge (so that he can lower and raise it). That is going to complicate things, but I'll bet we can figure something out and I'm thinking some pieces from his Erector set will come in handy. 
MATH: We're still plugging away on multiplication. At one point his afternoon I asked, "What's 9 times 2?""Nineteen!" shouted CJ.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
He thought for a moment and then said, "It's actually 18. I stand corrected."
Was he sitting at the time? :-) When he's really grounded in odd/even he'll know it couldn't be 17 or 19 and that will work for much bigger pairs of numbers than 9 and 2.
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