Little Norah

Well, Norah is growing up too fast. She's chasing her sisters down with her mad skills! She has mastered a tricycle, and last weekend, decided that she should ride Molly's 2-wheel bike (with training wheels). She jumped up on her own and began riding it around the neighborhood! Perhaps riding a 2-wheel bike at 2 1/2 is normal, but for us, it is faster than our other two even attempted to ride. We forget, too, that Norah is about 2 inches taller than her sisters were when they were 2 1/2!

We are going to work on teaching Molly to ride without the training wheels, and then we're going to need a 3rd bike! I can't believe how fast our girls are growing!

Here's a video of Norah riding in the backyard...

American Indian Museum

After studying North American Native Americans for nine weeks, we discovered that there is an American Indian museum about an hour away. Amelya expressed interest in going, so we went last Wednesday. Sean took the day off work to join us. The museum was quite small, but it was perfect for us. Amelya was able to see almost everything she had studied, including goggles worn by the Inuit in the far north, a seal skin parka, baskets, blankets, dolls, bowls, and sand paintings.

The girls enjoyed grinding dried corn to make flour, using a loom with yarn, trying on goggles and a headdress, and going inside of a wigwam. We also saw a special Olympic exhibit and a video about how the Olympic medals were made and what they represented. We bought the girls arrowheads as souvenirs.

Amelya had a worksheet to complete, basically listing all of the things she wanted to see at the museum, and then the things she actually SAW at the museum. On Thursday, for school, she completed a brainstorming worksheet to put her ideas in order, because her Friday assignment was to write a rough draft of a five paragraph essay for the first time. Prior to this, she had only written one paragraph to describe something she had seen or done. On Friday, we talked about the elements of the five paragraph essay, worked on an introduction paragraph together, and then she completed the rest on her own using her brainstorm worksheet. I must say, she did a FANTASTIC job, and I was so impressed. She made some errors as she wrote, but told me she didn't want to correct them as she made them, because she wants to have things to "fix" during the editing/ proofreading process next week. So funny!

Here are a few pictures from our field trip:

Easter 2010

The Easter Bunny arrived at the Fox household this year bearing great gifts! Amelya received a baton, jump rope, and a new book. Molly received a coveted Zhu Zhu pet, paint brushes, and a Chinese jump rope. Norah found a new book, binoculars, and a princess crown! Plus, don't forget the chocolates!

We spent the afternoon playing with our new things, reading, and taking care of the newest additions to our family - three guinea pigs! Amelya decided to spend her saved birthday and allowance money on a new pet. She researched the cost of guinea pigs and their "necessities," as well as checked out a book at the library about caring for them. Then, last Friday, she made the big purchase. The salesgirl was quite impressed with Amelya's knowledge about guinea pigs, their care, and their potential "diseases!" Molly also bought herself a guinea pig, and we decided Norah couldn't be left out, so she found one, too.

The girls LOVE their new pets! They enjoy holding them, giving them treats, and watching them play. They are also responsible for helping to clean up after them and make sure they have clean food and water. Momma likes that!

A Little Bit O' Irish

Those pesky leprechauns came to the house again, and somehow the girls picked up Irish Dancing!!





...and why does Nora look worried?? I think it's the suspect green milk, eggs, and yogurt!

Helping Verb Chant 1

Through her grammar book, Amelya has been learning the basic stuff: nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives. To help her remember the linking and helping verbs, the book teaches a chant. Through our repetition of the chant, Norah has picked it up, as has Molly. The other morning, they came into my bedroom to "perform" it for me. This morning, I asked them for an encore performance and recorded it for your viewing pleasure!

What are they saying??
am (clap)
is (clap)
are, was, were (clap)
be, being, been (clap, clap)
have, has, had (clap)
do, does, did (clap)
shall, will, should, would, may, might, must (clap, clap)
can, could!!

The 1st video (the best, of course) is having trouble loading, so, this is the 2nd best.

Quick Get-Away

Literally spur-of-the-moment, we decided to take off to Great Wolf Lodge at the Wisconsin Dells. Decided on a Friday, booked it, and left two days later! How's that for spontaneity!?! The girls didn't know where we were going until we arrived. I packed while they slept. They were so excited. Upon arrival, our reserved room style wasn't available, so they gave us a free upgrade. The extra space and separate bedroom were so nice, we decided to stay an extra day!

Valentines Day Tea Party 2010

Our annual Valentine's Day tea party was a success! The girls enjoyed their treats, although I forgot all about banana sushi this year! Bummer!!