We have been with MFW since DS was in K. This year, we are doing ECC for 3rd grade. We just finished Mexico last week. This weekend, we were looking for a place to eat in town. As he pleaded his case for his favorite sit-down restaurant (not my favorite place at all), he said, "Mom. If we go to (Mex...

I made ours "moveable" on the wall. I used string, clothespins, and poster tack. There is picture on my blog http://thecowqueen.blogspot.com/2010/08 ... lroom.html It's kinda "plain Jane" but has worked well, so far.

Beverly

I find that I had to lower my standards for "clean". I decided that "presentable" was more acceptable. We have a farm, a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old, and DH is out of town a lot. I had to make school the priority over housework. If we could keep the school area neat after lessons, it was a big help (de...

We are right there with you. We started MFWK the week after DS turned 5 in August. I read A LOT of the ideas on these boards -- don't foget the archives. I think as you go along, he'll start to get it more. The creation unit is meant to get the child going in the "idea" of school. It may be that you...

There is alot of good advice already posted, but I thought I would add in too. DS was the same way. We were both getting frustrated. (I think some frustration was his lack of focus.) Anyway, whether this is the phonics way or not, it works for us. Some of the words can be broken down into other word...

I had to chuckle at Jami's post. We didn't do ants because of a bad infestation in the kitchen a while back. I just couldn't let them in on purpose. When the butterfly larvae arrived, I kinda got the "willies" that I was bringing worms in. %| We will finish the frog unit tomorrow. Here are the books...

We finally have all our butterflies. The last one "hatched" today. Here is what happened with him/her: When the other 4 were attached to the lid, it was still on the bottom and not as big as they were when they attached. Customer Service said to go ahead and attach the ones in the pupa stage to the ...

We used:
Eyewitness Book: Rocks and Minerals
The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner by Eileen Christelow
Diamonds and Toads: A Classic Fairy Tale Retold by Ellen Schecter (teaches that "niceness" has its rewards)


Beverly

Here are the books we used. Eyewitness Books: Rock and Minerals ( We also used this for jewels). If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst (I really liked this one because DS has tractors in his head) Pebble by Susan Milord (The pebble on the shoreline wants to be s...

We did the Zebra unit a few weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting before we take the books back. We read:

If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo by Mary Jean Hendrick
Zebra by Caroline Arnold
Feeding Time at the Zoo

Beverly

A lot of people seem to question when to order the larvae for the butterfly habitat. Here is how our timeline of ordering worked out: January 12: mailed order for larvae February 3: postmark of package from California to North Carolina February 6: arrival of package in our mailbox (a mild weather da...

I made the files for K. (this is our first year) I only had a few things to put in them that I collected. Some we used, some we didn't, and some should have been in there so they weren't forgotten. I thought it was easier to just have one unit out at the time. I put in each unit's worksheets, ideas ...

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has a lot of info and pictures here:
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/vol ... me=Redoubt



Beverly

Here's what we did for the 100th day. (We've (mostly me) been battling colds for two weeks, so it wasn't much. We did our calendar and 100 chart as usually. His face lit up as he realized the chart was done. We did a Happy Hundred dance -- free form, no music, just a lot of wiggling. We made a 100 o...

Today is our last day of "Kangaroo" These are the books we used: World Book's Animals of the World: Kangaroos and other Marsupials (if I remember right, this one may mentions some evolution-type stuff) Animals Should Definately Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett (also has elephant and goat in it) Kat...

World Book's Animals of the World: Penguins and Other Flightless Birds Tacky in Trouble by Helen Lester (this one has an elephant in it too) Tacky and the Emperor by Helen Lester (any of the Tacky books would do) Please Say Please: A Penguin's Guide to Manners by Margery Cuyler Please Play Safe! Pe...

I told my husband that I should probably be previewing some of the books we check out from the library (not necessarily on the booklist) for MFWK. Every once in a while, we come across a book that we think my be a problem (like the one you listed). I see them as opportunities for discussion. "Yes, h...

I just remembered that when we did the elephant mask out of the paper bag, we used M&Ms for treats as DS is allergic to nuts. We did a few tricks for his treats. The next to the last "Command" was "go to your cage." M&M. The last command was, "Clean up your cage." And we did! I love it when things w...

I got distracted reading all the great ideas on the forums, and now don't have much time to post! Here are the books we read for Elephant: Little Elephants Song I Love My Mama (I really liked this one because the baby elephant plays a game with Mama where they see whose trunk is bigger. I do this wi...

If you have any row-crop farmers in your area, you might ask if they have any rocks piled up from their fields. We planted strawberries here in October and were picking up a "ka-zillion" rocks after we turned the soil. Someone mentioned the polished rocks from the craft and landscape stores. I haven...

I just found out about this website from one of my yahoo hs groups. It has pictures, videos, and facts about animals. try http://www.arkive.org. I thought some others outside of MFWK would like it too. We are in MFWK and are on the elephant unit. It has some great video of baby elephants playing. Be...

I grew up on a dairy farm and my husband and I have beef cattle, so this unit was a no-brainer for us. These are the "just for fun" books we used: Misery Moo and I Want To Be A Cowgirl both by Jeanne Willis How Now, Brown Cow? Poems by Alice Schertle The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett John...

Oh, Look, Patricia Polacco
Gordon in Charge, Jill Newton
Life on a Goat Farm by Judy Wolfman. This is life on a goat farm. It is told through the eyes of a child who lives on a goat farm.
The Queen's Goat, by Margaret Mahy

I just couldn't bring myself to have ants in the house. (We had a bad ant problem in the kitchen a year to two ago. YUCK!! We also have a farm and I could see the logic in bringing more ants to the farm when the fire ants are such a problem.) Anyway, we went to the Museum of Life and Science. They h...

We are doing our insect unit this week for MFW-K. I just couldn't bring myself to have ants in the house. (We had a bad ant problem in the kitchen a year to two ago. YUCK!! We also have a farm and I could see the logic in bringing more ants to the farm when the fire ants are such a problem.) Anyway,...