Parachutes

We are down to our last week of school. :)

Today we learned about air and how it pushes up on objects as they are falling towards the ground. We made homemade parachutes out of plastic grocery bags, thread and a willing plastic toy. :) We had fun building it and watching it drop.

Well I tried upload a video but it just would not work. I will try to post later with help. I am not computer savvy. :)

Caterpillar update: They have continued to stay on the bush where we first spotted them and they continue to eat the shrub leaves and grow. I hope we get to see one make a chrysalis. The kids have been checking on them each day to make sure they are doing well. Yesterday Ashten checked on them before we had to go to Grace's ballet lesson and in the car Grace spotted a stowaway on Ashten's shirt. :)

Caterpillars and a school update

Today we got an unexpected treat in the backyard. Ashten and Grace discovered caterpillars hatching and coming out of their web. It was so neat to watch explore the web and then move down the branches of the bush and then start munching and crunching on some leaves. We spent about a half hour watching the beginning stages of their little lives. They will eat and eat and eat some more and then metamorphis in to a moth. After watching them and taking some pictures I looked up what they might be. I think they are Eastern Tent caterpillars. We are hoping to see a cocoon and see a moth in a few weeks. :) This of course led us to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The pictures did not come out that great but you get the general idea. ;)


Now a little school update. At the end of this week we will have 3 full weeks left of school. YAY We are excited to be nearing the end of a wonderful school year. Grace will be graduating 2nd grade and Ashten will be graduating kindergarten. The last few weeks have been full of learning about the Transcontinental rail road and the pioneers who ventured west in covered wagons. We finished Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The book gave us a great picture of growing up in the 1800's and what life was like on a farm. We have learned about 38 states so far and will finish up with Hawaii. I sure wish we could finish the school year on the beach in Hawaii. ;) We hope to do a driving tour of the US in the coming years to see and experience many of the places we have learned about. It has been a year full of history!

Looking forward to a summer filled with learning and growing and having fun exploring the world around us.

I leave you will silly pics of Grace and Ashten. ;D