We did continue to learn more about Champlain, the iroquois and Hurons. I still have more books I want to read. I. have. more. books. I. want. to. read. always.
Anyway, we played Lacrosse as our activity since the Iroquois made the game up. It was slow going at first because the dollar store sticks (I'm in Canada, all dollar stores sell them here,) had huge nets that made it so you couldn't throw the ball. They worked much better once we fixed that.
We also learned about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. I LOVE this story. I love that it's about religious freedom. I love that they created their own government. I love that there were already fields ready for them to plant. (Although I don't love that the reason for this was all the natives dying of smallpox before the pilgrims arrived.) I love that they treated the wampanoags like fellow human beings and signed a treaty with them that boths sides actually kept. I love that Squanto helped them so selflessly. I just love it.
We "planted" corn (i couldn't find candy corn, so it was reeses pieces) and fishy crackers in our pudding/oreo dirt with gummy worms. WAY too many sweets. My boys loved it. Shocker.
As for science, we learned Newton's other two laws of motion. We used swings to teach his second law about force, acceleration, and mass.
Yep. Swings in my garage. My husband is AWESOME.
And we made paddle boats, balloon rockets, and air rockets to learn about how every action has a reaction.
Yep. Homemade air rocket. Did I mention that my husband is AWESOME?
Also, my cute sister in law did a couple on-the-fly experiments with Maxwell.
I would also like to share how well Daniel is doing at kindergarten. He is doing wonderful with his handwriting:
And he has memorized his "Yellow is the Sun" song from Rightstart. And as per tradition, here is the cutie:
And here's another cutie who loves to sit smack dab in the middle of the action at all times. He is sporting the "magic letter 'C'" cape.
And as promised, Maxell's story. Be warned: It's long. But it's very cute. Well worth the read (I might be bias though.)
Here are his writing prompt pictures:
The witch was leaning over, putting scales, fur and all sorts of things into her cauldron. There was a bad stench in the air like rotten flesh and boiling apples. The witch said "Come alive! Come Alive! Live Again! Get your Second Chance! Live Again!" The witch and a dead young woman with a golden cloak were high upon the magic alter. It was just before sunrise. The young woman was Princess Elizzabelle. The witch took a cup of her potion and opened the princesses' mouth and poured the drink in. The witch put her fingernail on the princess' forehead and immediately Elizzabelle came alive.
The princess said "Where am I?"
The witch said "You are going to be my slave."
Just then a slithering creature ten feet long and six feet high and swamp lizard-like jumped from behind a rock and frightened the witch. The witch was still as a stone. While the witch was frozen, the creature blew a tiny speck of fire at the witch that acted like a small missile that burned her mouth. When the witch tried to say "Be gone! Be gone!" it came out in mumbles. The Princess said to the lizard "Swang! You found me! I didn't know you hid in these rocks and haunted the witch!"
The witch tried to speak "Be my slave." But she could couldn't because Swang's little fire ball had burned her mouth into a fresh scar that covered her lips, tongue and chin. Her words came out like the sound of the wind. It did nothing to Princess Elizzabelle. Elizzabelle hopped on Swang's back. Swang whipped his tail at one of the posts that held the magic alter up. It all tumbled down and made a huge sound like thunder while there was a big flash of light. The light was purple, pink, and blue and all sorts of different colours. The witch was lost in the rubble.
Far away, the wizard saw the flash. At once he knew what had happened. He used his magic to get to where the flash started. Swang and the princess saw another flash and there was the wizard. The wizard turned around with amazing speed and said "What has happened?" Swang made a sound like a peacock. The wizard turned and said "Princess Elizzabelle! You are okay, but we thought you were dead!" But Swang communicated with the wizard that the witch had brought Elizzabelle back to life and was going to turn the princess into her slave.
The wizard said "I'm guessing the witch wanted to turn you into a slave so she could rule Prince Isaac's kingdom." The princess said "What? That is silly. Prince Isaac does not love me. How could the witch control the kingdom with me?"
The wizard just smiled and said "We'll see, we'll see." He then said "Excuse me princess, but I just need to ask something that Swang might know. Swang, do you happen to know where a crystal kind of blue ball is?"
Swang nodded his head and communicated with the wizard. Swang told the wizard that Prince Isaac kept it in his strongest dungeon and if the wizard worked for him, the prince will let him use it. If it is to destroy the witch.
The wizard thought for just a little bit and nodded his head to Swang, and Swang communicated "Watch out! Watch out, the witch is about to strangle you!"
The wizard turned around, lightning quick, and the witch was so surprised, that she made a screeching sound. When the wizard saw the scar on her face, the wizard laughed. "Are you trying to trick me? Because if you are, you are not doing it well." Swang communicated with the wizard that he had destroyed the witch's power of magic words with one of his fire balls. The scar had swelled up now to look like a small pumpkin where her mouth had been.
The witch felt frustrated that Swang had stopped her magic words and saved the princess. The witch had been the one to kill the princess by food poisoning. She was the one to take the princess out of her sarcophagus made of gold. She was the one to bring her back to life. Then Swang had broken the magic alter, and stopped her plans.
The wizard put a spell on the witch that made her fall asleep for three days, and the wizard said "Now let us go home." The witch fell down sleeping on Swang's back next to the princess. The wizard said "Magguy Maggoo Isaac's palace." A portal appeared and Swang, the witch, the princess and the wizard went through the portal. When they came out, they were in front of Prince Isaac's castle.
When Prince Isaac saw them waiting outside the castle wall, he said "Open the gate!" Immediately two men in armour of silver and crystal pulled the gates open. Prince Isaac was at the top story of his hundred story high castle, but suddenly he was there to greet the visitors. The way he got down so fast was because of his homemade magic elevator.
The prince greeted them and said "Welcome, step inside." Swang communicated with prince Isaac that they had the witch and that she would be asleep for three days. Prince Isaac said "Good job Swang." The wizard cleared his throat, and Swang told the prince of the wizard's help. Swang told Prince Isaac that the wizard was going to work for him to get the magic ball.
The wizard said "Hello Isaac, Long time no see." Prince Isaac said "Hello dear friend!…" but the princess interrupted and said "Shouldn't we get the witch down stairs into one of your dungeons.?"
Prince Isaac said "You're right. First, let's take the magic ball out of the strongest dungeon and put the witch in there instead."
In the next three days, the wizard worked for the prince. He helped the chef by making enough food for 10,000 men by magic.
The princess and the prince spent lots of time together. On the third day, they were in a garden together. There were beautiful flowers, swans, and ducks. The prince and the princess were holding hands. Prince Isaac looked at the princess and thought how beautiful she was because of her dark blonde hair that was curled at the bottom. Today, princess Elizzabelle was wearing a bluish gold cloak. There was a gentle breeze and a smell of roasting turkey for the up coming feast.
Prince Isaac said "Will you marry me?" and the Princess said "Give me one day to think about that. Tomorrow evening I will announce if I will be married to you or not."
The next day down in the dungeon, the witch woke up. When she awoke, her scar was completely gone, and she yawned. The wizard had put a magic gargoyle next to the window that would glow if the witch woke up. The wizard saw it glowing and went to tell Prince Isaac that she had awoken and said "Should the witch and I have a fight for your entertainment." he joked.
Prince Isaac said "Wait until after the feast to do it." He said with a smile.
Down in the dungeon, the witch was trying to use her words of magic to make a hole big enough for her to go through. At last, she escaped into the courtyard. She was too exhausted to use her magic anymore. She knew why she was so exhausted. The magic ball had this force field around the castle that sucked the power out of her slowly.
Then the wizard went into the courtyard, saw the witch and yelled "Prince Isaac! Prince Isaac! The witch escaped!"
Prince Isaac said "There's only one thing to do. That is to get the magic ball that I moved to be under the magic elevator."
The prince and the wizard ran to the elevator, and made it go up just enough to get the magic ball from under it. Prince Isaac handed it to the wizard, who said "Thanks."
The wizard ran back to the courtyard and planted the ball into the ground. Really quickly, a special plant grew. The witch was so exhausted, that she was laying on the ground.
The plant was green with blue blossoms. The wizard took the blossoms and boiled them for ten seconds. He took a cup and drank the potion.
The witch had regained some strength, and so in a rush, the wizard had left a little bit of water and one blossom in the pot. When the witch saw this she grabbed it with her magic and drank it herself. Usually you can't destroy a witch or wizard, but this potion makes you have a special power of destruction. But when you have a little bit of it, it will only make you stronger.
The wizard said "Prepare to die."
The witch said "I've got my magic words back and I'm stronger."
The wizard spoke "You shall die forever more." and by moving his hands over one another spherically, a lava-like ball began to shape until he had made a golden ball. The wizard threw it at the witch. The witch made a force field, but the golden ball went right through it and hit her right leg, which made her limp.
The witch made a golden diamond snake-like thing from her magic. She put it on the ground and said "Come alive." and the snake started to go towards the wizard. The wizard saw this happening, and quickly made a golden dragon and told it to come alive. The golden snake and the golden dragon began fighting each other. The snake was like a worm to the wizard's dragon which was so huge. The dragon stepped on the snake which desolved into the dragon, making him stronger and fiercer.
Then the dragon started attacking the witch who started making a diamond lizard. While she was making the lizard, the wizard was making another dragon, but this time it was made out of diamonds. The witch put her strongest force field around her while she was making the lizard.
The two dragons started blowing fire at the ground where the witch was. She was done pith her lizard which started to fight the dragons. The golden dragon distracted the lizard as the diamond dragon got ready to step on it. The witch shot a lightning bolt underneath their feet, but the wizard saw this, made a force field, and the lightning bolt barely dent it.
Then the wizard thought "Maybe I should do lightning too, but a lightning dragon." since he loves dragons so much. He started making a lightning dragon. The witch started making a lightning lizard because the dragons had been able to destroy her diamond lizard.
They were both done making their creatures, and they both let them out of their force fields. The lightning dragon and lightning lizard fought. Eventually the dragon was defeated because the lizard had shocked the dragon with so much energy that he exploded. But than the golden and diamond dragons rushed over and stomped on the lizard and got his powers. Then the two dragons turned on the witch who started making a diamond fish. The dragons broke through the witches force field and stomped on her so much that she was now the size of a brick. Her fish was absorbed into the diamond dragon.
The wizard said "We have defeated the witch and all of her creatures! And now we have two diamond and gold guardians! Now, let us feast!"
All the trumpets blew, and the people began to shout "Hurray for the wizard! Hurray for the wizard!"
They all went to the feast, and as people arrived, the trumpets blew once.
"The princess will now announce if she will be married to the prince or not." The curtains opened, and there was Princess Elizzabelle on the stand.
She said "I have thought, and I accept Isaac's hand in marriage." Everyone cheered.
Prince Isaac smiled and said "Let us feast."
The next evening they got married and lived happily ever after.
The end.
