Sometimes you are learning something when you least expect it. Here are some surprising learning opportunities that have happened in the past week.

Writing

~Dragon is writing a book about monsters and malls.  He has been using the computer to locate America’s largest mall. He then looked up a USA map to see where it was located in relation to Florida(evidently, some malls will be destroyed in his book.). This was not only writing and handwriting, but computer skills and geography.

~Squirrel wrote her pen pal.

~Tracker kept track of his Pokemon or Bakugan drawings.

Math

~Pokemon cards & games. There is a lot more math there than you would think. The boys have been doing addition, subtraction, multiplication. They are also organizing and researching them online and in books. They have also been playing on their DS.

~Cooking. Dragon made dinner last night and Tracker helped with breakfast this morning.

~Allowance. A great game that helps kids learn how to make change and to deal with unexpected expenses. I believe that this is their new favorite game.

~Money, they have been counting their money and trying to figure out just what they could buy at the store. Squirrel was using a calculator to add.

~Measuring. I cannot remember what they have measured. But Tracker almost always has a tape measure on him lately.

~Olympics: keeping track of scores in snowboarding, curling, and skiing.

Science

~Nutrition:

Serving sizes: what is a proper serving for children, for adults.

water vs. soda. We now have 2 pennies in soda to see what happens. So far   the pennies are looking worse and the metal is being eaten through.

risks of being overweight: this came from a TV show where there was an        overweight teen on the show. This struck close to home and started  the        entire thing.

why is water important.  The signs of dehydration

~Magnets are constantly being played with. Tracker’s favorite activity is to attach a magnet to a hot wheel and use another magnet to make it move.

Geography

~Olympics: locating various countries on the map

~Dragon’s story.

Art

~squirrel drew an amazing picture of Shaun White on the half pipe. I am going to scan it and then send the original to Shaun White along with a letter of congratulations from the kids.

Physical Education

Swim lessons

Wii sports

jump ropes and hula hoops

riding bikes