A Tanka by D

Fish

Scaly, blue-gray, stream-lined

Swish of the tail

In the water, salt or fresh

No hands, no legs, no fishing rod

by D

On the Shelves 2/20

Happy President's Day!

Here's what we are reading this week:

Lincoln, by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire
Thomas Jefferson by Cheryl Harness
Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas
A Picture Book of Sacagawea by Dan Brown
Paths to Peace by Jane Breskin Zalben
Uncover the Human Body by Luann Colombo
Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children by James Herriot
Fireside Stories by Caitlin Matthews

Some of these are new, and some are tried and true all-time favorites (like Herriot's Inspirational Stories). 

D is really into the Deltora Quest series right now. J is simultaneously reading some Magic Tree House books along with the Ocean Fairy series. And I am struggling through the Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje, and hoping it is going to pick up.

Happy Reading!

xoxo

Happy Valentines Day to everyone! May your day be full of sweetness, pinkness, sugariness, and of course, love.

MFA

We spent the day at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today. We haven't visited the museum in over a year, and I was struck by the beauty of the works we saw today. I left feeling so very grateful that this museum exists right in our backyard. J and K spent the day looking at sculpture, while D toured the modern art exhibit with the older kids. All 3 kids then worked on projects that tied in to the ideas they discussed while touring the galleries today.

Some of the sculpture we saw today included pieces from Ancient China and Japan.

The girls, hard at work in the clay studio.

Three 3-D masterpieces. 

Stinky Liver Stan

Our human torso model arrived this week to aid in our study of the human body. In addition to removing his lungs, heart, stomach, liver, and intestines on a regular basis we are currently considering names for this handsome gentleman. So far it's a toss up between Naked Bob and Stinky Liver Stan.

We also did a quick experiment this week that helped us to 'see' air. We've been discussing how our nose, trachea, and lungs help us to breath air, and how our red blood cells take the oxygen from that air and circulate it throughout our body. Of course we can't taste, touch, or feel air (unless it's windy) so we looked at some air trapped in a glass. We added water to a bowl, and then food coloring to the water. We placed a paper towel in the top of a glass and placed the glass, open side down, in the bowl of colored water. We could see the clear air trapped in the glass, and that the paper towel stayed dry with the glass placed upside down. When we tipped the glass the air escaped in bubbles, which we could also see. This was a spontaneous experiment we decided to do after reading Air is All Around You, a Let's Read and Find out Book. The experiment is included in the book.