Mardi Gras!

We had such a fun Mardi Gras this year! This was our second Mardi Gras in New Orleans.   Last year, we did one Metairie (suburban) parade, then the whole family came down with some horrible virus and we had to sit the rest out.  This year, we were determined to do more, embrace the madness, and enjoy it.  I think we succeeded!

I checked a few books out of the library on Mardi Gras and read them to the kids.  I wanted them to understand a little more about the origin and meaning of this crazy holiday that turns our city upside down for several weeks every winter.  Their favorite, though it's not particularly factual, is Dinosaur Mardi Gras.  I actually bought that one at Sams and we read it over and over and over again.  

I made a Mardi Gras wreath for our front door.  Turns out I forgot to get a picture of it.  Mardi Gras decor is nearly as common as Christmas decor down here.  And the seasons for them run back to back.  Christmas comes down and Mardi Gras decor goes up on Epiphany.  I take my Christmas down earlier than that, so we had a week or so undecorated.  Good enough.  Chick-fil-A was even decorated for Mardi Gras!

The first parade we did this year was the Krewe of Barkus.  It's a dog parade.  Hazel was indignant, "How can dogs ride floats and throw beads?!" Well, they can't.  But it sure was fun to walk into the quarter and watch the doggies in costume and let their people throw us some beads and other treasures.  My kids came home loaded down!

 

Fake doogy poop--a throw appropriate for Barkus!

the final haul from Barkus

The next weekend, we participated in the Destrehan Farmer's Market kiddie parade.  My kids wanted a spider man float, so that's what we did.  I watched the parade with my friend Andrea, while David and the kids pulled the wagon float and tossed some beads.  It was a small event (we were one of maybe a half dozen participants), but they loved it.  

On Mardi Gras Day itself (Fat Tuesday), we went with the Schaffs Uptown to watch Rex.  This was both a first time to take the kids to a parade Uptown, and a first time to go see a parade on Fat Tuesday.  It was SO fun! Not at all intimidating or hard to navigate, like I feared.  It helps to go with people who have lived here forever and done this for years. ;) 

Daddies, kids, and gear

two Schaffs, two Wallaces

a picture that Hazel took on my phone.  Look how enormous the floats are to the little kids!!

Jono was a bit of a grouch that morning, but custody of David's camera helped give him something productive to do rather than complain.  He's not a bad little photographer!

Throw me something, Mister!

I'll spare you my rant on the reality of Mardi Gras for families in New Orleans compared to the image the rest of the nation has of our city and this holiday.  Suffice it to say, beads abound, no shirt lifting required.  Mardi Gras really is completely excellent, FAMILY FRIENDLY FUN!!  

Next year, I'm staying up late for Muses! 

Wrap-up: Harold and the Purple Crayon

I'm woefully behind on my blog, so this is late, but I'm recording it nonetheless.  We spent a week rowing Harold and the Purple Crayon from Five in a Row in late February.  I had pooh-poohed this unit when browsing FIAR because we had read Harold many times and I just didn't think it had much meat in it.  I wasn't sure it was worth spending a school week on.  But since we did own the book, it was too convenient to pass up, especially in February when we need some easy (planning-wise).  Turns out it was a very enjoyable row!

We spread out a long piece of white butcher paper, and tried all of the purple crayons in our big crayon bin.  We sorted them into groups and found that we had the following varieties.  Then I read the story and let them doodle, if they wanted, while I read.  Hazel drew quite a bit of the story!

You can see the moon in the window, the apple tree, the boat, the buildings, the mountain, and the hot air balloon, all from Harold's adventures. 

The next day we did this wonderful color wheel activity on primary and secondary colors.  They loved seeing their color wheels develop from dropping red, yellow, and blue.  

Our science day was on the phases of the moon.  We read a wonderful library book on the moon, and then did the obligatory Oreo moon phases activity, including this worksheet. That was very popular, as you can imagine.  Thankfully, Whole Foods carries a gluten and dairy free "oreo" so that we could include it in our study.  I also made this little model of how the earth orbits the sun, while the moon orbits the earth.  They all enjoyed playing with it, and it really helped everyone to understand how the moon looks different to us at different times of the month. 

The last day we made transportation mini books.  This was not new information, so much as an opportunity to do some cutting, pasting, and labeling.  We made these little one-page booklets, and then chose our favorite forms of transportation (whether mentioned in Harold or not) from these little flashcards I printed, cut them out, glued them in, and then labeled them.  They like making books. 

Wrap-Up: Katy and the Big Snow

I finally have my computer working again, after a long appointment with Phil at the Apple Genius Bar, so I can catch up the blog!

We spent a week right after the New Year on the Five in a Row unit for Katy and Big Snow.  Katy is one of several titles by Virginia Lee Burton included in FIAR, and one we read last year as we worked our way through the Sonlight P3/4 reading list, so it was familiar. We had the best time with this row!

For social studies, we did two of the activities suggested in the manual.  First, we discussed what different components make a community.  We talked about how we need homes, stores, community helpers like police, firefighters, etc.  In some cities they need snow plows like Katy, in ours we need pump operators to keep our city from being underwater.  Ha! We built a block city, labeled the different parts, and then made it SNOW!! We found a small toy bulldozer to play the part of Katy, plowed out the city, and thoroughly enjoyed the mess.

our city

snow! (shaving cream)

Hazel and "Katy"

Jono was happy to plow the snow with any ole' car

such joy!

The second social studies activity we did was mapping.  We mapped out the backyard, taking turns drawing the different parts and labeling them like the map of the city of Geopolis in Katy.  We learned which direction in our yard was north, south, east, and west, and practiced running to the right direction as I called them out.

running to touch "east"

backyard map

For math, we did a measuring activity.  In Katy, they talk about the snow being one inch deep, four inches deep, 10 inches deep, and then five feet deep (and beyond).

Five feet of snow would be well over his head!

For art, we cut snowflakes!  Well, to be honest, I cut snowflakes.  Hazel tried, and found it too difficult to cut through that many layers of paper.  She was happy to draw the parts she wanted cut out for me to do, though.  The boys declined the art activity this week.  Not a battle I was interested in fighting.  You can see the snowflakes on the back door above.

Our language arts topic was personification.  We defined the term, looked for examples in the story, and then sorted a pile of toys into those where were personified and those which weren't.  I didn't take an after picture, but I'm sure you can see which ones went in which pile.

Weather, and specifically snow, was the science topic this week.  We read some library books on winter precipitation and then watched the Magic School Bus episode on weather.

The biggest hit of the week, however, was our FIELD TRIP! When I was planning this row, I looked on some FIAR blogs and noticed several had taken field trips to their city works department to see the snow plows.  Well, New Orleans owns no snow plows.  Since we had talked about community helpers, in general, I scheduled a fire department tour.  We had SO MUCH FUN!

Jono in the driver's seat of the truck

too excited to even look over at Mom!

firefighter showing the kids how they put on their air tanks

trying to hold up the heavy hose

They took turns trying on the smoke mask

showing the kids the different parts of a firefighter's uniform 

trying on the mask

Happy kids! 

The firefighters at our local station were so good with the kids.  Bringing such a small group meant that they got to ask ALL of their questions and try everything out.  As we were leaving, one of the guys said, "Come back next year!" I think we will! 

More Mother Bears

I made a couple more bears for the Mother Bear Project this year.  Last year, I had said I wanted this to be an annual tradition, making 3 bears (one in honor of each of my children).  This year, I pooped out after the 2nd bear.

The truth?  Charity knitting/crocheting is super fun, but this particular pattern is not one I enjoy working up, especially not three times in a row.  So I'm reneging on my intent to do bears every year.  Let's just say that maybe I'll do some more some day?

Regardless, these two bears are off to some little kids in need of a hug.  They go with prayers for comfort and peace!

Wrap Up: A New Coat for Anna

Before Christmas we spent a week with the Five in a Row book A New Coat for Anna.  I just love this book.  In it, Anna and her mother barter some of their nice things for the materials they need to have a new coat made for Anna.

We played bartering one morning.  Jono was a doctor, Charlie was a dad spiderman with kids, and Hazel was a farmer.  Hazel needed some vet care for her cows, but didn't have any money, so she offered Jono some of her fruits and veggies from the farm.  Charlie needed milk from Hazel's cows for his children, and offered one of his cat's kittens to chase mice in her barn.  We created some other scenarios, too, but they escape my memory at the moment.

In the book, Anna and her mother dye the yarn for her coat red using ligonberries.  We dyed some wool yarn with Kool-Aid!  Such a fun and simple process.  

On our long road trips over Christmas, I knit their yarn into something of their choosing.  Charlie chose a hat for him and a matching hat for kitty.  Hazel chose the same (haven't done her kitty's yet), and Jono asked for a small stuffed alligator.  

We read some wonderful go-along books that had similar plots.  I highly recommend:

Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie DePaola

Farmer Brown Shears his Sheep by Teri Sloat

Blackberry Booties by Tricia Gardella

We also took a trip to the WWII museum here in New Orleans, since Anna takes place in worn-torn Europe after WWII.  That museum is amazing, and I can't wait to go back, but I'll go next time without my kids.  It was over their heads, which I expected.  And while they certainly enjoyed seeing the planes and tanks and things, I felt somewhat disrespectful with my rowdy excited 4 and 5 year olds in such a somber environment.  Plus, it was recommended by the curators that we skip the entire 2nd floor due to extremely graphic images in the exhibits on the Asian front of the war.  So, note to those thinking about taking children to a war museum.  Don't. 

I'm sure we did other things with Anna, but frankly, I didn't take good notes and Christmas happened between then and now.  That's all I remember, folks! Thanks for reading!