I is for Insect

 Our focus this week was Moses.  We started the week talking about baby Moses and continued on to talk about the plagues. The plagues is where insect comes from, therefore the letter i.

Bible

We read the story of baby Moses and the burning bush once.  Most of the focus was on the plagues.
Little Dragon enjoyed manipulating all of the magnetic pieces for the plagues.

Later in the week we did an action activity for the plagues.

1. I poured a packet of Kool-Aid in a mason jar and also had a cup of water.  Little Dragon poured the water into the mason jar and it turned red. He didn't see me put the Kool-aid in the jar and was surprised at the color change. (Water into blood)
2. We hopped around like frogs.
3. Itched our arms and legs. (Gnats or Lice)
4. Swatted at pretend flies saying "get away bugs!"
5. We placed all of our animal pictures upside down. (Animals sick and die)
6. I blew bubbles at Little Dragon and he would say 'ouch, ouch' when they touched him. (Boils)
7. We threw marshmallows at each other. (Hail)
8. Jumped like grasshoppers. 
9. Covered our eyes. (Dark)
10. Pretended to paint blood on the door. (Firstborn boys die.)

Science

The activity turned into a marshmallow war.  A nice way to get out some energy.  When the war ceased Little Dragon wanted to know what would happen if he put the marshmallows in the blood jar.  He collected all of our war-mallows and put them in the jar.

We left the jar out for a week for observation.  Every time Little Dragon saw it he would talk about Moses.  He even shared the story with some of our friends :)

By the end of the week all the marshmallows dissolved.

Crafts

Insect Jar

Materials

• mason jar
• stickers
• pretend insect or catch your own

Little Dragon decorated his insect jar with stickers then we placed the insects in the jar.  He still keeps the insects there and carries them around sometimes two weeks after this lesson.  Perhaps next summer some real insects can make it their home. 

Stencil Pumpkin
Materials

• Large paper
• paint
• Jack-o-lantern stencil

This was a simple craft Little Dragon Loved.  I taped the stencil of the jack-o-lantern on the paper and let Little Dragon paint.  There were multiple colors available but he liked the green.  

My intention with this craft was for him to paint over the Jack-o-lantern then take it off the page, like a stencil.  Little Dragon had another idea in mind.  He did not paint on the stencil at all (on purpose).  He painted all around it.  I still love it and it will be part of our Halloween decor next year.

Toilet Paper coloring

Materials

• Toilet paper
• Markers

This craft was not planned, nor have I ever thought about doing it before.  Little Dragon asked if he could color on some toilet paper, so we did.  I folded the toilet paper four times then gave it to the boys.  When they finished coloring the top they unfolded it and the marker had bled through into a long piece of art.  

Alphabet/Math

We had a lot of fun with this letter.  It was easy to write so Little Dragon practiced writing it on his own often.  It is also easy to identify.  

Using Popsicle sticks and office dots Little dragon made a whole page of i's.  

He made insect thumb prints on his i cutout.  Counting six legs for each.

He made i's with ladybug felt pieces.

He also counted the spots and sorted the cutouts into groups of 2.

Little Dragon made an insect book.

Not only did this book tell Little Dragon what an insect is but there were plenty of i's to point out while reading and coloring it. 

Sensory Bath

The last thing we did for our insect week was an insect bath.  I put cake mix in one end of the tub and placed the insects in it.  Then I filled the tub with a couple inches of water.  This way there was dirt and mud.  

Little Dragon had a blast in this tub.  We played friends with the insects.  

Little Dragon was afraid to touch the dirt.  I helped him out a bit my taking a handful and smearing it on his arm.  At first he was upset.  He didn't want to get dirty.  I told him "you are in the bath silly. We will make sure it is all washed off."  He took this as his invitation.  He smeared more dirt and then started burying the bugs in it. 

At the end of play I turned on the shower and the 'rain' washed away all of the dirt.  

Doll Dragon still isn't home with us.  We saw her for 1 day last week because it happened to be convenient for the bm. Since then though she is refusing visitation.  We are still fighting. Some things have finally moved forward but emotions are high and we are battling the stress more and more each day. 

It is causing friction in other areas of our lives.  Little Dragon misses Doll Dragon and asks if he can play with her often.  I miss her.  

My mind seems distracted and I am loosing sight of what is ultimately important.  

Daily I must remind myself to keep my head high and remember God is always good.  I must continue to love and be patient regardless of others actions.