The Trampoline is UP!!

The weather warmed up a few weeks ago, so we decided to put up the trampoline the kids received at Christmas.

We all had a good time helping to put it together.

Everyone pitched in and did their part. Of course, it got cold again last week with temps down in the 40's. But today it was sunny and 67 degrees. Tomarrow it's suppose to be 75 !! Horray for spring!

Homeschool Co-op Art Class

For six weeks this spring I am teaching the 3rd - 6th grade girls art class at Legacy, our homeschool co-op.

Our first project was a watercolor silhouette.

This is the sample I made at home the night before class; the idea coming from a book I checked out from the library.

First is simply to paint the watercolor background on the entire paper in whatever colors you choose. Then, while waiting for it to dry, cut out your silhouette. When the painting is dry, glue the silhouette on top and trim up the paper edges if needed. Here are some of the girls finished projects.
Great job, girls!!
Our next project will take approximately 3 weeks to complete.

We will be tackling these tessellations using equilateral triangles. The girls' themes are based on books they have read. They already have their triangles drawn and I'm sure they will be surprised at the results when we cut and glue them on this Friday. I'll add a few sneak peaks next week. Exciting stuff. I love it!

Becoming a Fan of Star Trek

I wasn't a big Star Trek fan growing up. I remember watching it sometimes; I knew all the characters. But, since the kids only knew William Shatner as The Big Giant Head (3rd Rock From The Sun), I decided it was time to expose them to Captain Kirk.

We decided to start at the beginning and have begun watching the original series season 1. I have to say I'm getting hooked. We are all enjoying the adventures of the Enterprise crew.

So......my house is a little messy right now. I just have one thing to say in my defense,

"It's Captain Kirk's fault".

Case closed.

A new driver behind the wheel!

Yes, we have a new driver in the family!!

LittleE has had her permit for 3 weeks now and is very excited about learning to drive.

We've been traveling the neighborhoods, around and around and around and around....

She's been doing a great job, by the way, but a head's up is always a good thing! :smile:

Happy Birthday, LittleJ !

LittleJ celebrated his birthday this past week. He started out with a great birthday lunch of grilled cheese and red pop, and wearing his new Buzz Lightyear shirt from Grandma and Papa. Then, he had a little birthday haircut.
LittleE made a great birthday cake.

Birthday presents, of course-- more duplos, more puzzles, Toy Story, and Lightning McQueen!!

It was a fun day!

First Signs of Spring?

Today we were surprised by a small flock of robins in the front yard.

They flew in and spent a few hours poking through the flower garden looking for goodies.

Is spring on it's way? Well, I've heard it said that the red-wing blackbird is the true sign of spring, and we haven't seen any of them yet.

So, I guess we keep waiting and watching. It can't be too long, right?
After all, Indians Opening Day is only 5 weeks away!

A Little LEGO movie

In our study of Thomas Edison, we learned that he invented moving pictures. So, we decided to make our own little Lego Star Wars movie.

BigJ improved as we went along, learning to move his characters just a little bit at a time.

You will see Boba Fett coming out of the sand, Leia and Han getting married, and then Darth Vader making a quick entrance and exit (yes, he looks like Darth Maul, but we couldn't find Vader's head).

We took approximately 130 still photos, put it on Windows Movie Maker, and sped it up to 10 frames per second. ENJOY!

There may be another movie in the works soon, and we may even learn how to add in sound-- just like Thomas Edison did :smile: