"Little School"

For about 3 years now I've been saying I wanted to run my summers like a mini-preschool. Then the reality of summer hits and I enjoy the freedom of sleeping in and doing things as the mood strikes us. Finally, though, we hit upon "little school". About every other day the kids gather around the kitchen table to hear a couple of Bible stories and learn a little. Drew's teacher gave him a rather ginormous packet of summer work (all optional, but worth a special lunch with her upon his return if completed). He's nearly done with it now. Erin has been working out of a cheapo Wal-Mart-type phonics book and is really getting the concept of initial consonants and the sounds they make. She'll likely be reading before kindergarten if she keeps it up, though we're in no real rush. To keep it interesting for them, we've thrown in the occasional science experiment, encyclopedia usage, locating on a globe, and google searching. A few weeks ago we did the quintessential volcano.

Here is Erin adding the red dye to the vinegar:


Drew gets the honors of pouring the solution:


Here we go! I know that the volcano is pretty lame (a water bottle with potting soil). The kids didn't care.

Success! Drew was stoked for a good 30 minutes afterward. He loooooves science.