Racing Thoughts

 For some reason, my kids love roller skating.  They think it is absolutely amazing.  The last time we went, Alice decided she was going to enter the races for the first time.  She and the other girl they paired her with had trouble keeping their balance while waiting to begin, so we knew it was going to be interesting.

 And then they said, "GO!"  And nothing happened.  They said it a couple of times and finally the girls took off.

 These pictures make it look like they were going much, much faster than they really were.

 I'm just not a very good action photographer.

 Alice actually won her heat!

 Jack made a good showing in his race, too.  Sometimes I worry about his internal motivation (and having spent six years of my life with fifth grade boys, I know this is a common worry!), but watching him skate has given me the confidence that if he really wants to improve at something, he will work at it.  It's amazing how much progress he's made since the first time he put on a pair of skates.  If only he really wanted to improve at handwriting or geography! Haha!

I also love what he told me before he went out to race:  I try it because I don't want to have any regrets.  I'm glad he's willing to give it a go, just to see what he can do.  I hope he keeps that attitude for a long time.*

*Unless it involves some crazy girlfriend or bungee jumping or something like that.  I have my limits, you know.

And I'm proud of Alice for trying something new.  By the end, she and her competitor were skating hand in hand and laughing.  She told me:  I just go up to someone and say, "Do you want to be friends?" and then we play.

So don't worry too much about these sheltered homeschool kids.  They're figuring it all out at the skating rink.

Alice's First Dance Program

 Alice had her first dance program this year.  She was a little excited!

 They performed their dance (to "I Want Candy") three times, so I videoed when she was in the front row and just got one still shot.

 This is my favorite picture!  She loves being in dance.

 Daddy got to come see her in class, too.

And they even got to have a cookie party!  They will have two more (I think) smaller programs before their big recital in the spring.

Bug Catchers

 Before I start, these things do not catch bugs; they hold bugs.  For some reason, though, I keep referring to them as bug catchers.  I just wanted to be upfront with you about that just in case you're like me and were scarred at an early age by the Minuter Rice commercial where the rice flew around the table and then you got the Minute Rice and found it actually had to be passed from person to person.  So lame.  Even though these do not actually catch bugs, they are handy to have when you find yourself with a bug and you need a place to put it.

 To make a bug catcher, you'll need some screen.  This is the kind I got.  I was guessing at the sturdiness of it and probably could have gotten something a bit stiffer, but I didn't know if it would be easy to cut with scissors.  It worked fine, though.  I bought a whole roll because it wasn't very expensive and I didn't want to wait to find an employee to cut a custom size.

 You'll also need some plaster.  I still have a lot left over from when we did our Frederic Remington artist study, so I was glad to have a chance to use some more of it up!

 Cut the screen into a rectangle.  As you can see, I started with a 12" by 7.5" rectangle for ours.

 You'll also need two shallow cans for each bug catcher.  I used the cans from blueberry muffin mixes, though I think tuna cans would also work well.  Mix up your plaster and pour it into one of the cans.  If you want, you can add a small twig in the plaster.  (I thought of this a couple of days later, so ours are twigless!)

 Then roll the screen up and put one end down into the plaster.

 I used a clothespin to hold the shape of the screen while the plaster dried.  When it was dry, I did cut the height down an inch or so and also dabbed a little bit of hot glue along the edge of the screen to make it a bit more secure.

Put the other can on top of your screen to act as a lid and you have a bug catcher!

Camping

 There's no Weekly Wrap Up post for last week because aside from our trip to the Oklahoma History Center, we spent most of our time camping.

 The kids loved the swings my dad put up for them.  

 We had the same site we had a couple of years ago, so it was fun to look back at the pictures and see that they still enjoyed most of the same things!

 Fishing with Grandpa!

 Alice caught a fuzzy caterpillar.

 She put it in her bug catcher and found it in a cocoon the next morning!

 They spent lots of time at the park.

 They took turns burying each other.

 They also cracked a bunch of pecans they found...

 ...and then roasted them.

 My favorite camping food?  Fried biscuits!

 There was also (a little) down time.

 Other than the nights getting a little chilly, we had beautiful weather.

 Saturday night we brought Hobo out for a bit.  This is the first time he's gotten to go anywhere other than the vet or dog class and he did very well.

Thanks for a great camping trip, Grandma and Grandpa!

Oklahoma History Center

 Yesterday we took a rainy road trip to Oklahoma City.

 We went to Homeschool Day at the Oklahoma History Center.

 The last time we visited, Jack looked like this.  It has been a while!

 There were lots of tables set up all around the lobby with speakers and activities.  Here Alice is hearing about how they make some of the displays in the museum.

 Giving animals their appropriate dinners at the zoo table.

 Surveyor

 They each made a cartouche at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art table.

 At the moulage table they got to try to make their own wounds.

 They designed their own brands.

 They looked for fossils...

 ...and then tried to identify them.

 Learning about blood pressure

 Trying to write with a pen and ink

 At the archaeology table

 Civil War soldiers

 Music!

 Learning about the Dust Bowl

 Weaving

 We also spent some time looking at the regular exhibits.  One of the ladies who did a lot of the concept art for Alice in Wonderland was from McAlester.

 When Jack was 1 I didn't think I would be able to get him out of the trolley without a fit.  Thankfully he was much more compliant at 10!

 This is a fun place for kids because there is so much they can climb on and touch and try on!

 It was a great day!

We are definitely planning to come back next year!