Homeschool Fun: Thomas Train

watching paint dry

Jayne had so much fun doing Thomas the Train week again that he turned our 4 day school week into 3! The highlight of the whole week was making a troublesome truck. It was the craft activity in the magazine we were working in. He had so much fun and we both worked on it. Jayne did the big parts and I did the toothpicks and face. You can see from the pics that my Zyrtec box and toilet paper roll have simply transformed!



the truck is finished



Next week we are getting a taste of the All About Reading program that we are planning to use for kindergarten next year. I am really excited to see how he likes it!

Homeschool Fun: Thomas the Train

Jayne plays trains

This week, and the next 2 weeks, we are taking it easy. We are going a little lighter on the school lessons as we get the house ready for Jayne's birthday party and finish getting ready for school to start for the fall. This week we did Thomas the Train week. I really liked that we used his Thomas the Train magazine for his lessons because they come with a 14 page workbook inside. Jayne was excited to put up the poster in his room when his workbook was finished at the end of the week. We also watched Thomas movies on our netflix and played with his Thomas trains as well. We broke out Jayne's new set of pony beads as well and he got some practice lacing. I think we will make that a part of our art week quite often. I can tell it is working on his pencil holding muscles!

Next week is hot dog week! Jayne is pretty excited. I wasn't able to get all the parts I wanted done for the pack due to my computer, which is still not doing well, but it should be good for our lightened week. I also found A Hot Dog Program on netflix and will get it sometime during the week, but SHHHHH, don't tell...it's a surprise!

Our Dells Vacation

It was a CRAZY 3 days! We basically did 3 kinds of activities. We played at Magiquest, the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park, and visited the outlet mall. We drove there with my parents and my brother, sister, and her husband were there too. Adam and I also saw the midnight showing of Harry Potter which was a ton of fun! We ate out once each day and it was mostly good.

A train comes by and blows bubbles at us at Buffalo Phil's

 I will start with the food. Day 1 we went to Moosejaw Pizza. It was really over priced and our waitress was fairly rude. The food was good though. Day 2 we went to Buffalo Phil's. You need to make reservations if you want special seating, and trust me, you do! The special tables get their drinks and kid's meals delivered by remote control train! Jayne loved it and was very well behaved because he was occupied by trains the whole time. It was a high price restaurant but the food was good and the service was as well. Plus there is a lot to be said for being able to keep the kids entertained. An important note...If you get a coupon for a free train ride, DO NOT take your small children! It turned out to be an adult style roller coaster and Jayne was terrified! The last day we had lunch at Sprechers. The waitress was not very good at describing the meals and made us wait a long time before ordering. The price range was medium high but the food was a little more bland than I was hoping for.

Jayne poses with his magic wand

Magiquest was were we spent the most time. Jayne loved using his wand all over the hotel. For anyone who is not familiar with Magiquest, it is kind of like a video game. Instead of sitting in front of the TV, you actually scour the 4 floors of the building looking for the items you need for your quest. It is quite a workout as you are constantly going up and down the stairs. It was a lot of fun for the whole family. It was also a great deal. You need to buy your wand, but the $11.99 admission is all day if you are just visiting, but all stay if you are staying at the hotel. That meant 3 full days of play for our entrance fee. That was a lovely surprise! I should also mention that the "Magi name" that Jayne gave himself was Light Zodo and he got on the top charts for gold, points, and runes the first day.

Jayne poses with his wolf ears in our bedroom

We also got to spend all the time we wanted at the water park. We had a hard time with that one. Jayne doesn't like loud noises. The constant splashing sound, multiplied by the echoing interior, was a lot more than he felt comfortable with. We did get him to do some slides though and in the end, he gave in and had fun.

Jayne with the wolf in the lobby

Jayne did a great job during our stay. He had a rough time though. Since we were constantly doing things he didn't get the rest time he needed. And when we tried to get rest time in, he was distracted by all the other people staying in the 3 bedroom room. That is something we will have to consider the next time we take a trip.

I get a turn with the wolf ears