Good bye summer!

I still can't believe that summer is over!  We all really enjoyed the quiet, laid back days at home exploring, playing and creating. 

 Avery in his ninja training, attempting to be stronger.  He decided that the best way to be stronger was to carry Alia around.  She liked this arrangement just as much as he did. 

 They spent hours building this sled from things around the house.  When it was completed he asked if he could take it down the stairs.  I calmly explained the risks involved and let him know he would most likely be a "fail" video.  He thought it over and decided he didn't want to get hurt.  Thank goodness!  For the record I never would have let him go down, but I did want him to think through the choice and make the best one because there will be times when he is with his friends and he will be dared to do crazy things. 

 The stick on the side with all of the duct tape and necklaces was his brake! 

 I bought clay from JoAnns and we made pots and dishes.  This picture shows Avery's covered dish, bowl, plate, and coral. 

 Here is the cat I made for Alia and Alia's bowl and lid.

 They played together really well this year.  I don't know if it was their age or the fact that they didn't want me to find something to do if they didn't get along because that usually involved sight words, reading or worksheets.

 Notice the dinosaurs in both of these pictures.  Avery created the teams of dinosaurs so they could fight.  Interesting that Avery has all of the big dinosaurs and Alia has all of the little ones. 

 We were making bread and I wanted to show them what happens with the yeast and how it makes carbon dioxide.  They watched the balloon grow bigger throughout the day.


 When Scott got home he decided to show them what happens when you pour that invisible carbon dioxide over candles.  It was magic!

 We made window catchers. 

 

 We were invited to water days at a friend's house. The goal here was to build a series of interconnected pipes for the water and marble to go through.  It took a few attempts but they eventually solved it.

 Water limbo!

 We woke up one morning to find our tomatoes like this!

 Scott had fun drawing faces while we all slept.  Notice the ninjas fighting and the friend's concern in the background. 

 This summer Avery collected so many bugs, spiders and snakes.  This snake is a northern brown snake.  He eats snails and worms and is harmless.  He has special teeth that allow him to extract the snail from the shell.  There is another snake here that looks almost identical in color and size but has yellow on its tail.  That snake is poisonous so we had a long lesson about the differences.  We actually found that snake today in our garden.


 Here he is with a wolf spider.  He loves watching him devour other spiders whole.  This spider is a ground spider.  He doesn't make a web, he makes a hole and covers it and then ambushes his prey.  He is fun to watch.  I love that Avery goes exploring everyday for food for his friend.

 Isn't he huge?!  

 Another craft.....I remember making these as kids.  These ones glow in the dark and light up their rooms at night.

 I loved this guy Avery created...he is a super hero.