7 Snippets From Unschooling - Bikes, songs, and ninjas....oh my!

This week I'm joining in on the Snippets From Unschooling Link-up!

~ 1 ~

This week has been all about the bike and outside play!  The weather has been good besides a few storms and even downright HOT so the front yard is getting a lot of use.  I finally pulled out Dani's bike that we'd been saving for Spring.  It's a blue and yellow 12" bike I found for $15 on Craigslist.  Score!  It's a step up from her tricycle and I'm sure it won't be long before we're pulling off the training wheels.  lol  She also requested a basket for it so she could carry snacks and a drink on her rides.

We also tried out hopscotch for the first time

~ 2 ~

We visited the Teacher Store last week and Dani picked out a large purple magnifying glass.  We also got an ABC and wipe-off calendar poster for the dining room wall.  She checked out some of our seedlings, talked a little bit about how magnifying glasses work, and then she took it with her on a sleepover at Grandma's house.  I figured that would be a good purchase down the road.  She's also been asking me about time and the days of the week which is why I got the calendar and printed and laminated this clock game.

~ 3 ~

Dani started singing the ABC's in the car this afternoon!  She needs a little help starting off, but she's got the 2nd half down totally.  It's funny because we don't really sing that song around here much.  I assume she picked it up from TV (gasp!).  She was a little confused about B and V and asked me to tell her some words that started with those letters.  That helped clear it up for her. :)  She's also been playing games on Starfall a lot more.  She particularly likes their games for letter D and letter V.

~ 4 ~

I am NOT musical....at all.  I enjoy music, but I never did more than dabble with a few instruments and I can't sing...but Aaron is very musical and so is my father.  Aaron plays bass, guitar, and trombone and can sing while my dad played banjo, a bit of piano, and clarinet.  The kids seem to take after them in that respect.  Oscar is starting to "dance" and seems to sing along ("Ahhhhhhh ahhhh ahhhh!") to music.  He is particularly fond of Mumford & Son.  Dani is constantly singing and making up songs of her own.  I've heard her singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and I've Been Working On The Railroad by herself (she particularly likes the part about Dina in the kitchen) and she enjoys singing along with Fun.'s We Are Young in the car.  Other recent listens include Metallica, Moby, Madonna, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spinnerette, and Basement Jaxx.  Yes, we are a pretty musically diverse household!

~ 5 ~

Socially we have been SUPER BUSY in the last week or so.  Friends, Unschool Group, random kids at the playground, cousins, Great Aunt Bonnie, Grandma...I swear we've played with a ton of people!  Oscar seems to be a social butterfly too...oh boy!  lol

He got to enjoy his cousin's cone, not the ice cream.

~ 6 ~
 This past week I got to explain internal combustion engines to Dani.   I'm a mechanic's daughter so I didn't even have to Google it!

~ 7 ~

As I mentioned before Aaron and I have been playing a lot of Star Munchkin and of course the kids want to join in.  Oscar likes to carry around a small jar of beans we keep for level counters and Dani wants to play too.  Sadly, it's just a bit beyond her ability at the moment, so while we let her help (she draws cards, hands out beans when we gain a level, etc.), I decided to get her a card game of her own to play.  It seems like anything besides Go Fish is for ages 7+....but at Target I happened across something called Fruit Ninja.  Apparently it's based on a mobile game, but I'd never heard of it before this.  It's pretty simple - You cut the deck and try to collect either 7 types of fruit OR 25 fruit total and can choose when to end your turn.  Each time you cut the deck you're taking a risk of drawing a bomb card and losing that turns fruit.  Green cards have less fruit and the least chance of bombs.  Yellow cards have more fruit and more bombs.  Red cards have the most fruit and also the most bombs.  You end up having to consider probability and strategy...plus there is counting and adding involved...oh and you're supposed to say "Hiya!" each time you cut the deck!  lol