Prickly Pairs

 When Jack was little he went to zoo classes all the time, but since we moved it's never worked out for Alice to go.  Today was her very first class!

 They learned about all kinds of prickly animals and even got to feel a porcupine's quills.

 They also got to feel a puffer fish.

 Best of all, they got to touch a real hedgehog!

 Snack time

 Painting quills on a porcupine...

 ...and then they got to see the real thing!

 When her class was over we took a quick spin on the carousel.

 Then we met up with the boys (a big thanks to Christie for watching Jack while Alice and I were in class!) and saw some more animals.

The weather warmed up a bit and we spent a long time at the playground before a late lunch at the Hideaway.  It was a great day!

Squirrels

 Alice recently finished up a unit on squirrels.  Some of the books we used:

Miss Suzy

Nuts to You!

Squirrel Nutkin

The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

Scaredy Squirrel

Earl the Squirrel

The Squirrels' Thanksgiving

We also enjoy The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game!

 We used some of the printables from Homeschool Share's squirrel lapbook.

 Another graph!

 I pulled out our Draw Write Now books and Alice loved them!

 This is the squirrel she drew!

 A few days later she brought me this picture of a squirrel with a Thanksgiving turkey.

 Of course we hunted for acorns, and we still had the same red scarf Jack used!

 We also read about some other types of squirrels in our Fun With Nature Take Along Guide.

 Just about the time we were starting the unit, we got Kate DiCamillo's latest book, so we even had a squirrel in our read aloud!

 I haven't read Gooseberry Park with Alice yet, but it's a great chapter book with a squirrel as one of the main characters.

We also ended up with a squirrel in one of the books we were reading for Oklahoma history!

We've moved on to some Thanksgiving learning and then it will be time for Christmas fun already!  Yikes!

Thanksgiving at Home

 Monday night we had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home.  I pretty much stuck with the regular plan with the exception of corn and a cranberry dish.  This year's turkey was just 8.25 pounds.

 Alice decided she would make a little dinner for Big Stuffed Dog.  Note the napkin rolled up and held with the pony tail holder.

 Jack with his drumstick!

I'm so thankful for these three!

Homeschool Day at The Wondertorium

 I was thinking today that I should make a flip book of these road trip pictures.  Last Saturday marked one year since we got our new car.  Anyone care to guess how many miles we've put on it in the last twelve months?  It's a lot.

 We headed to Stillwater again and had lunch at Mexico Joe's.  Two years ago we stayed at a hotel across the street and Jack has wanted to eat there ever since, but it's never worked out until today.

 Then we were off to the Wondertorium.  Alice loves to play store there!

 She also loves the doctor's office, though Jack isn't always a very compliant patient.

 The main reason we went, though, was for the homeschool day presentation on Oklahoma history.

 The kids all helped label the map with the different tribes in the territory before the land runs started.

 They talked about the Boomers in the Unassigned Lands...

 ...and the Sooners, too.  (Those are the ones hiding out to get their land early.)

 They learned about the land run and counted down...

 ...and then everyone staked their claim!

 There were other land runs, too, which is why some of the tribes have been removed in this picture--I am sharing that with you so I remember it when I have to teach it again!

 The kids also got to try out some chores they would have had to do if they lived back then, like grinding wheat.

 Sewing on buttons!

 They had some different animal things there, too, and Alice was excited to see a squirrel print since she has been learning about squirrels!

 At the end, they churned their own butter.

 Yum!

In the Artist's Pad they had supplies for making spoon dolls, so we tried that out, too!

We had a great time!

Jan Brett

 Last night we went to see Jan Brett on her latest book tour.  Jack and I went to see her five years ago and really enjoyed it, so we were excited.  Apparently, so was everyone else, because when we got there about 45 minutes before it was supposed to start, there was already a line to get inside.

 A picture with Hedgie while we waited for the show to start.

 She talked all about how she came up with the idea for Cinders and all of the research she did.

 She even brought some of her own chickens that she used for inspiration for the pictures!

 She also gave a drawing lesson.

 Hard at work!

 

 The finished picture!

 We were in line for close to two hours!

 She was very nice, though, and took the time to chat with everyone.

 I think this picture is so cute!

It was late when we got out, but we had a great time!