Fun with Carcassonne Jr.

Shapes!
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Mathematics: Shape and space

Our favourite math-based games

Uno and Dutch Blitz

Perfection

Blokus

Tangrams (Magnetic Travel Tangoes are our favourite sets)

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Pattern Blocks

Cuisenaire rods
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Mathematics: Numbers, patterns, shape and space

Rainbow math

We spent a fun afternoon playing with math, exploring the various ways to make 10. We used a Ways to Make 10 Rainbow worksheet from The Littlest Scholars, and used chocolate chips to add a visual (and yummy!) dimension to the activity.

Little brother sat with us working on counting, one-to-one correspondence, and taste-testing.

Colouring the rainbow.

Done!

Visually representing the numbers with chocolate chips.

Activity complete!

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Mathematics: Numbers (addition)

Lego Robotics

The boy spent two hours this afternoon at a Lego Robotics class run by Bricks 4 Kidz. He had a great time and looks forward to signing up for another class.

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Mathematics: Shape and space
Science: Observation and experimentation

Lego creations

Much of the boy's day is spent wrist-deep in Lego. Sometimes he recreates his various sets following the instructions, while the rest of the time he designs his own models.

Recent designs have included a family of ducks (parents and several babies), a giraffe, people, vehicles, a playground, and a Duplo vacuum. His first still life drawing attempt was based on one of his self-designed Lego vehicles.

Testing a "harbour" he designed to keep boats from being washed into the town by big waves.

A playground which he continued to add to over the next several days.

A beach house he built following the set's instructions.

Vacuuming the rug.

Drawn replica of his Lego vehicle.

He also enjoys playing a few rounds of Creationary whenever he can find willing participants, and loves to take many (many) pictures of his Lego creations.

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Mathematics: Shape and space
Fine Arts: Visual arts (creativity, artistic design)

Grape construction

This week's Science Club adventure was a simple combination of grapes and toothpicks. The kids used them to create various shapes and objects, including pyramids, houses, tiaras, and even sea urchins!

Little brother snacks while big brother begins creating.

Making a grape-kabob fence.

His final creation!

Bonus? Instant snack time afterwards!

We will definitely repeat this activity with a more focused look at both two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes in the future.

(Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!)

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Science: Observation
Mathematics: Shape and space

Lego Maze

I had casually mentioned the idea of making a Lego maze to the boy several weeks ago. He thought it sounded interesting at the time, but he was focused on something else and so nothing came of it.

Today he came to me and asked if I remembered when I told him about making a Lego maze. I sure did, so he asked if I'd make one with him. The two of us made ourselves comfortable on the floor and began work on this creation.

He quickly took the lead, adding all sorts of extra things that I wouldn't have thought of. Once it was finished, we took turns carefully tilting the maze to roll the rubber ball from beginning to end. It was a fun challenge!

He continued to add to and modify his maze throughout the week, until at last it succumbed to the usual Lego creation fate: his little brother got hold of it.

Good-bye, maze. You were fun while you lasted.

(Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!)

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Mathematics: Shape and space
Fine Arts: Visual arts (creativity, artistic design)

Fall leaf sugar cookies

Part of our journey towards a more intentional life has included incorporating rhythm into our days, weeks, and years, ensuring that the things we value are not forgotten as our time idly slips away from us.

One aspect of this rhythm has been the deliberate observance of the passing of the seasons. As such, we chose to celebrate the first day of fall this year by making leaf sugar cookies. Simple, fun, and memorable, the boys declared it the best day ever.

(Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!)

We began by whipping up a batch of sugar cookie dough (I used this recipe based purely on ratings). Before chilling the dough, we separated it into batches and added food dye.

Once it was chilled (and dinner was finished), we moved on to the fun part!

Pull off pieces of dough and arrange them in a patchwork on your floured (or, in our case, "parchmented") surface.

Roll the dough into a smooth surface, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Beginning cutting out your cookies! We made leaves, turkeys, and pumpkins. The boy and I each used a toothpick to draw designs on the cookies. The toddler ate the dough.

The re-rolled dough had more of a marbled effect. (By the third re-roll, the mixed colours were looking pretty dingy.)

The rest is self-explanatory! Bake 6 to 8 minutes at 400F (or as per your recipe) and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

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Mathematics: Numbers, patterns, spatial relations
Social Studies: Co-operative participation in groups
Fine Arts: Visual arts (creativity, artistic design)