Coloring book mania...

My kids (like other kids I can think of) are in a major art phase right now, everything from coloring books to some awesome clay I got at the teacher supply store. I've been, as posted below, eyeballing some coloring books for my 2007-08 "school" year, to supplement history and science, figuring I could make copies for both children. Now the question is this, is $52 too much to spend on coloring books (not including shipping)? Now granted, I don't have to buy a lot of the other curriculum stuff (thankfully), but it does seem like it might be a lot for coloring books, even really nice ones. Hmmmm.

We spent yesterday running errands, so we never got around to sitting down for any lessons. Oops. I am counting our trip to the farm stand - the CSA where we picked up our veggie box - as a learning experience though, because we actually took the time to wander through the fields, looking at all the lovely vegetables, and the loads of strawberry plants, all in different phases of growing. We discussed fertilizer (manure), watering needs, etc. We smelled the veggies, picked some pea shoots, I watched the kids run through the cover crops on twisty little paths made by the people that work there. So that counts for school, doesn't it? It's funny, my kids love vegetables anyway, but they're always particularly excited about those from the farm stand. Maybe it's the fact that they smell like real food? The dirt still clinging to the beets? The free purple carrots they each get? I don't know, but we did have some GREAT asparagus last night.

Today we're off to the park. The sun is shining, the kids want to be out-of-doors, and I wouldn't mind the fresh air myself. Our lesson plans for the day are: Saxon Math lesson 91; 2 pages in unit 7 of our language-arts book; and diagramming/drawing our strawberry plants. By the way, grocery stores in our area have very yummy strawberries right now - we know they're yummy because we eat them with nearly every meal!

On another note, since we go through a charter school (at least for now!), we may eventually have to show that we are studying some of the items listed in the California Education Content Standards, so I spent some time looking at the framework, and comparing it to MY plans. As far as math, language arts, fine arts and P.E. go, we're above standard. Then, I was looking at history and science, to see how far off WTM is from state standards, and guess what, I can easily make it all work! In first-second grades, there's very little actual history being taught, and C.O. has already done much of the work required for first grade science. By third grade, there is history, focused on Native American cultures, which I can tie into the early modern period of WTM. Fourth grade is more California, and some U.S. history, which fits in nicely too. Then, starting in 5th grade, we'll be a year ahead in state standards for history, since we'd be starting cycle 2 of WTM, and 6th grade in California is Ancient History. It's all about the same with science - I can adapt the state standards and WTM quite easily, all the way through. Ha! So, I can have it my own way, and if we stay with the charter school for the long haul, their way too!