Yahtzee & Battleship

We are going through a phase with games. Annie has just discovered Yahtzee and she really likes going for her numbers. That and Battleship. I'm unsure when we're playing if she knows when I've made a hit or not...
I think it's all creating a lot of awarness for numbers and grids and sequences.

Making Cheescake

Annie and I made a three-step cheesecake. She loves using the food processor and measuring out ingredients. And cracking and beating eggs. She made a special small one for her Kung Fu teacher, and we made a small family size for dear Jen, John and Johnny. Annie really wanted Johnny to be her Valentine.

Go Dog Go

We've had an explosion of reading and writing from Annie in the last month. She can read most of what she puts her mind to. Last night she read quite a bit from Go Dog Go. Today she was having fun reading street signs. "No Parking." "Road Closed." Sometimes when she's making breakfast, I think she reads the recipe for pancakes, but really I think she has it memorized.

Color and Chemicals

We've been going step-by-step through the science of color and chemicals. Mixing primary colors together to make secondary colors was very exciting for Annie. She made the following notes on what color made what color.

R + B = P

Y + R = O

Y + B = G

Mushroom Hunt

We've been finding a lot of mushrooms up at Redwood State Park in the Oakland Hills between rainstorms. Usually when we hunt we call out to each other to show off our find. After a hike these days, we stop calling after a while because there are so many! We've been identifing and bringing home some samples to draw and look up in our reference books when we can't figure it out.

After the Rain

Wow! It rained all day yesterday and it felt wonderful and Wintery. And then today was sparkling and bright so Annie and I took lunch and warm drinks to the beach. Ahhh! It was so bright and pretty, for about an hour, then it turned bitter cold so we had to roll up in our beach blanket and snuggle. I was hoping to get a beach picture that could be used for our holiday card, but nothing is really screaming out at me. These four are the best. Do you vote for any of them?

Yesterday the Homeschooler Craft Fair went really well! Annie almost sold out of her watercolor cards and I sold stuff too. We'll definitely do it again next year. I was pleased that the soup I made for the soup sale was one of the first to sell out! Yeah! I am feeling much gratitude for the homeschool mom's who work hard at organizing the many wonderful events here in the Bay Area. I'm glad to be a part of it all!

Chinese Brush Work

Here are some samples of characters and animals Annie has been practicing. There is a character for Ann, one for tiger, and the rest, I don't know.