Park Time

 A beautiful warm winter day calls for some time at the park. So, we headed over to Creekside park because along with a playground this park has several soccer fields. Hubby and I signed all four girls up for soccer starting in March. I wanted to go over some rules of the game and let the girls practice shooting, passing and dribbling.

 They had a lot of fun playing. The biggest thing we need to work on is keeping the ball in bounds.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the playground. A few of our other friends showed up which made for an extra special time.

My strong little Butterfly!

Painting Fun

Our friends came over for a painting playdate. This was our last time to get together with them before they move. Saying goodbye is a hard part about military life and something you don't really get used to. You learn to just enjoy the time you have together and keep in touch through facebook and emails.

The girls pictures turned out to be masterpieces and we used up all our paints! I allowed the girls to paint some shells and random wood pieces we had outside as well. Needless to say there was paint everywhere. I am grateful it was a beautiful day and we could do this all outside.

Saturn

Pf studied about Saturn today. Her project was to come up with her own model of Saturn. This is what she created.

Sculptures in the Park

There is a park downtown that is always rotating sculptures. We pasted the park on the way to drop Pf off at her painting classand the sculptures looked really interesting. One looked like a swing and the girls wanted to swing on it. After dropping Pf off for class, the rest of us headed to the park. What we thought was a swing was actually a big spider web. The girls enjoyed climbing on it anyway. The sculptures on display now have been the most unusual that I have seen so far but the girls sure enjoyed them.

Addition Wars

My middle girls needed some practice with their addition facts and speed. I wanted to make it fun so I decided on addition war. Played like regular war except the winner of each battle is the one who says the answer first.

Upward Game 2

Pf did such an awesome job today! She was award the best defense star for how well she stayed motivated on defense and the passes and shots she blocked. After her last game hubby and I have been coaching her on different aspects of the game. I ran her through a sprint drill to help build her speed and motivation. Well all her work this week paid off because she was faster and all over the girl she was guarding. On offense, she made a point to stay open and assisted on several baskets. Her team worked well together today and won a great game!

Candy Bear Restaurant

 The middle girls have been learning about money. PF and I decided it would be fun to create a play restaurant during lunch time. PF created a menu with prices. She was also the hostess and waitress. I got to be the cook.

 Greeting her guest as they came in.

 Deciding on what to get for lunch. They were able to pick a main dish and two sides.

 PF took down all the orders.

 Serving lunch.

After they enjoyed lunch, PF wrote out their bill. Butterfly and Ladybug had to total it. Then we used chocolate gold coins to count out how much they owed. We all had so much fun with our pretend restaurant. This experience was such a great way to teach them proper behavior in a restaurant, how to order for themselves, practice with math and paying for a meal.

The Value of Money

Butterfly has been working hard today to learn how to count money. She is in level beta with math u see. I really like how they demonstrate the value of money. The blocks we are using are party of the program. Butterfly first built the number using blocks, then she placed the appropriate money on each block. She loved being able to draw in the decimal point on the white board. This method made it really easy for her to see the worth of each coin and how much more valuable a dollar is.

Counting money

For Christmas, the girls received chocolate money from uncle Tim. This was perfect timing because currently the middle girls are counting money in thier math curriculum. Butterfly practiced counting and then enjoyed eating one before doing her math sheet.

Grammar

Today pf had a writing assignment. She needed to write a how to essay. She wanted to write about how to make a doll but pf always has to put a crafty touch anywhere she can. So of course she made a doll while doing her writing assignment.

Upward Basketball Game 1

 Everyone is ready for the first game. Sisters dressed in support!

 While waiting for the game to start, I let Dragonfly play matching games on my phone. She had the best time!

 Hubby and PF warming up together.

 Each team member is introduced before the game and run through a cloud of smoke.

 PF got to dribble the ball down the court several times and made one excellent block. She is still learning the rules of the game so it was clear what hadn't been taught to her yet. But for her first game, and after only two practices, she did great!

Unfortunately PF's team was on the losing end of the board today but they showed great effort!

Fridays

PF started art classes on Friday afternoons. While she is busy painting, I have been taking my other girls on different adventures around town. On our first Friday, I needed to mail out some cards so we headed to the post office first. The postal worker gave the girls coloring books and stickers. The coloring books were full of information on each state and different stamps to color. We then headed over to a small playground on church property. After playing for alittle while, we decided to look around the church. I had no idea they actually do small tours of the church.

 Christ Episcopal Church was one of NC's earliest congregations. The first church on the grounds was finished in 1750. King George II gifted the church with a silver communion set and the "vinegar Bible" which was printed in 1717. The Bible is called the vinegar Bible because there is a miss print in the Bible where vinegar was written instead of vineyard. The Bible is still on display in the church. It is probably the biggest Bible I have even seen. The church building burned in 1871 but was rebuilt in 1875. Children helped to raise money and bought the church a beautiful stain glass window with the money they earned. The stain glass window is a picture of Jesus welcoming all the little children to him. While we were in the church, their organ player was practicing and we got to hear beautiful music. The girls were impressed with how large the organ was.

 PF enjoyed painting with watercolors for her first class. These are her two paintings.

Mars Project

For this week's Astronomy lesson, PF studied the chapter on Mars. The project at the end of the chapter was to build a machine that would transfer a load from one area to another. Here is what she came up with: