Crystals

Maggie loves jewels: real jewels, glass jewels, plastic jewels.  So, when I found a Smithsonian Crystal Growing Kit at Pac Rat Palace, I knew Maggie had to have it. 

We unpacked our equipment, listed our proposed procedures, documented our observations of the water-crystal powder solution, mixed some stuff together, and waited.  

 

 

 

 

 DAY 1:

 DAY 6:

 

Lena's Day

Now that waterfowl season is over, Grandpa finally gave back our 12-year-old yellow lab, Jones.  Her odor was indicative of the fact that she had spent the last couple months retrieving ducks and geese.  So, Lena and I took her to U-Dirty Dog -- a self-service dog grooming salon on Colorado Blvd.

Lena and Jones were in doggy heaven.

P.S.

Maggie Loses a Tooth

Homeschooling has taught me one thing above all else: 

every situation is a potential learning opportunity.

Maggie lost her first tooth last night.  It was her Lower Right Central Incisor.  We pulled out our Human Body book and magnifying glass and studied that little tooth inside and out.

We learned that the hard outer layer is Enamel.  Just inside the enamel is the Dentine.  In the center of the tooth is the Pulp which contains tissue, nerves, and blood vessels.  We noticed that the root of Maggie's lost tooth was missing -- during "root resorption" the roots of a baby tooth are dissolved and the tooth becomes wiggly.  

Last, we observed that Maggie does a pretty good job of brushing her teeth.  The Tooth Fairy will be pleased.

 

Milestone

When Maggie was 4-years-old, we were given a set of High Frequency Readers.  She loved the pictures and the simple plots.  As I read, I followed the words with my finger, and Maggie came to understand that a group of letters represented ideas. 

We continued reading the books throughout kindergarten, but Maggie didn't catch on quickly to letter recognition or phonics, and the books became a source of  unending frustration.  By the end of the school year, Maggie and I were battling through one book per week.

Maggie teases me for attributing so much of the wonder in the world to magic.  But what happened yesterday was truly magical.  Instead of doing our formal reading lesson, Maggie asked if she could read to her friends.  She took out the High Frequency Readers and read all 18 of them.  Without one mistake or a single tear shed.

I have never been so proud.

Packing

Maggie wanted to bring two extra dresses and two extra pairs of leggings to daycare to share with her good friends Addi and Ava.  However, instead of rolling them up and stuffing them in her backpack, she decided to follow the example set in Heidi -- one of our favorite books to listen to on CD.

So, today, when we left the house, Maggie was wearing a pair of rainbow leggings, a pair of white leggings with silver dots, a pair of green leggings, a yellow dress with blue flowers, a brown dress with sequins and pleats, and a blue dress with multi-colored buttons.  And her fur cape.

 

"She scrambled behind him up the slopes, puffing and panting under the weight of all her clothes. Then she unwound her thick scarf, and took off her boots and both her dresses.  She laid them in a neat pile and danced after Peter wearing only her petticoat.  He couldn't help smiling then."