Captain James Cook

We had a long discussion about Captain James Cook's three voyages, chartering the coast of New Zealand and 'discovering' the mythical land of Australia.

The children made some Aboriginal dot paintings.

Panda Girl and The Boy made the Great Barrier Reef where Cook was shipwrecked.

And Ballet Girl and Monkey Girl spent some time investigating the causes and symptoms of scurvy and wrote an essay on whether Cook's territorial discoveries were more or less important in maritime history than his elimination of scurvy in his sailors.

Magellan and Ballet

Ferdinand Magellan sought a sea route through the Americas to China across the Pacific in 1519.  He discovered the Magellan Strait, named after him and also Magellanic penguins, so the children spent an enjoyable morning naming a part of the garden after themselves and also inventing a new animal which they named after themselves.  Funny and memorable. 

The Boy finished his book and read lots of word with the magic 'e' in them: fine, gave, hope.  Clever sausage.

Spring is springing.

Drawing on wood, because why not.

 While the girls worked on their Maths, English, Nature Study and Music, Mummy and The Boy did a bit of spring crafting.

And then: Ballet x3 and Football for the munchkins & Yoga and Uni for Mummy :)

Exploration

We started our new unit today: Exploration.

We talked about the ancient explorers from Egypt, the Roman Empire and Greece and how the Vikings were exploring experts.  We talked about the Book of Marvels describing Marco Polo's 17 year trip to China in the late 1200s and then Christopher Columbus' quest to find an Atlantic Ocean silk trade route to the Far East in the 1400s.  Funded by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, he sailed to what we now know as the West Indies and 'discovered' America.

He took three ships with him: The Santa Maria, a fast ship; The Nina, a small ship with triangular sails designed to sail well against the wind; and The Pinta, a large ship with square sails, designed to sail well with the wind.

The children drew a cross section of the Santa Maria, captained by Christopher Columbus.

We collected some things he would have needed to take on the voyage.

Oil

Salt

Flour

Salted meat

Barrels of fresh water

Fishing lines

Nets

Hats and beads for trading

The kiddies also worked hard on their Maths, English and Science after lunch and outside play.

Learning about friction with an eraser and ice.

The Boy learnt about the Magic e and how it changes the vowel sound when added on the end of a word. 

Trampolining this afternoon and Sea Cadets this evening.

Commodore's Pennant

Monkey Girl achieved her Commodore's Pennant!

Here's a description from her Unit.

Well done to our 2 Leading Junior Cadets on receiving their Commodore's Pennant from our Unit President.

This is a massive achievement not only for the cadets, but for the unit as well.

To gain your Commodore's pennant you have to complete all of your four Junior modules and then go through extra training.

Again, many congratulations as this is a great achievement.

Silly Spring Glasses

The children rested a lot this week after their big dance weekend.

They made some silly spring glasses.

Ballet Girl is becoming more adventurous with her sewing.

She made this SUPER apron for her cousin.

We have managed to squeeze in some workbooks...

...but mostly we hung out in the garden...

...made play-dough fruit...

...and a miniature play scene...

...read lots...

...and coloured lots.

Ride of the Valkyries

We finished our European Union thematic unit today with Scandinavia, the Valkyries in Norse mythology, and the Aurora Borealis.

In Norse Mythology the Valkyries, daughters of Odin, took brave warriors from the battlefields. The Aurora Borealis was thought to be the lights reflecting off their shields.

My Dancers

I love my daughters.  Mucho, mucho.

Ballet Girl and Monkey Girl have five dance lessons each a week:

Junior Associates Ballet

Inter Foundation Ballet

Grade 4 Ballet

Grade 2 Tap Dancing

Grade 2 Modern Dancing

Panda Girl has three classes a week:

Grade 3 Ballet

Grade 1 Tap Dancing

Grade 1 Modern Dancing

Although they have been preparing for months for this year's dance show, full rehearsals began last week with the girls participating for a total of 17 hours.

They had three shows over the weekend, dancing 45 dances between the three of them over all three shows.

They were finally home at 10pm on Sunday night...

...and needless to say they were exhausted today so we had a rather fun Lego & pyjama day.