We have come up with creative ways to help Cathy learn to count money.She does like the touch screens. We studied archaeology thus week,so why not have a dinosaur bone dig. Happy national dog day. We are so happy we adopted our Maya,we love her so much. We picked up Jack's cousin Aiden and built free Legos at a toys R Us then went to the park for the DSSKY picnic. We had lots of food and fun and games. I'm glad Jack has fun cousins he can play with.
We are moving right along with our 2nd week of 4th grade. We started the Story of the World,history and geography curriculum this week too. I think we are going to like it. After the introduction unit we did a family history going into a family tree project. Jack had to interview family members and write a journal. He liked it a lot. He likes every subject except Language Arts. He doesn't mind reading spelling or vocabulary but he can't stand sentence structure and writing. My goal this year is to get him to write proper sentences on things that he likes. If I can get him to write paragraphs about Minecraft then I know he will be able to write more research papers this year. He had fun researching Abraham Lincoln last year but when it came time to write the paper he turned into a baby.
We finished our written work yesterday around noon and net some friends in Owensboro at the Owensboro Science Center. It was a cute little science museum. They had a science talk too. She talked about caves in a cave replica . All the talks about caves and times we have been to Lost River Cave and Mammoth Cave have rubbed off on Jack because he was answering questions left and right. I was proud of him because even if he knows the answer he usually stays quiet. Then she talked about environmental pollution,water pollution and water erosion. I had no idea that golf courses were the number 1 method of pollution followed by factories then farms. They spray the golf courses daily with chemicals to get them to look like that,then it rains and washes all of the chemicals into the drains. The drain water dumps into the rivers.
After the cool science talks,we went across the street,by the river to Smothers Park. This park is amazing. We need more like it. Jack played for almost 2 hours,then it was time to drive back. We had fun and Jack was able to see friends for 2 weeks in a row. I'm ready for the weather to be a bit cooler and then we will do lots of fun outdoor things and nature science.
We made it through the first week of fourth grade with Jack. I'm so glad that he listens to us most of the time. We even had our first field trip this week. We went to the humane society and learned about all the services they offer and the processes that the animals go through to be adopted. We learned a lot about nonverbal communication and what the animals are trying to say. We will volunteer there in the fall and collect donations. I'm slowly but surely teaching my child manners and to be less selfish. I want him to want to give back and help others. I do it all the time. I just hope I rub off on Jack.
We had to pack up all our things and head back home today but not before heading to the zoo and the science center. We were pressed for time so Jack and I each picked 2 animals that we wanted to see and since the zoo is free,we were not out any money. I picked the elephants and monkeys and Jack picked the penguins and the sea lions. We went through 3 big loops and saw many other critters on our way to our choices too. We left our car in free parking on the street and road the trolley to the science center in Forrest Park. It was Jack's first time on a trolley. He was excited. I think a giant park with everything in it and miles and miles of hiking and biking paths needs to come to my town. Did I mention that the science center is free too. Yep. We love Forrest Park. The park also has a boat house with rentals, golf course,Frisbee golf course,butterfly house,art museum,botanical gardens and outdoor amphitheater. Jack loves the speed check over the highway. Jack loves clocking the cars.
The second day we packed a picnic lunch: sandwhiches,doritos,fruit and gluten free cookies. My friend, Angela had purchased me some gluten free cheerios and gluten free cookies. They were so good. We packed up and went to Six Flags St. Louis. We had a blast there. Stayed in the water park mostly. Jack and I rode this scary tube water drop slide and it wasn't the drop that was scary,it was that there was so much water in the tube that you couldn't breathe. We both felt like we were drowning,so we won't be going on that one again but we had a fun day. Then we went back to Illinois for ice cream and we all crashed,we were so tired. I was proud of Jack for playing with Leah too. They would argue with each other and then played for a while and then argue again. It's funny to see two only children try to figure out who the to dog is. Lol
