So, today we had our Home Scholars meeting. For those of you just tuning in, Home Scholars is the name of our homeschooling co-op. We meet weekly, but once a month we do a country study together, and since today is Valentine's Day, we thought the study of France would be appropriate. Here are pictures from our meeting.
Here is our potluck lunch table, with all things French!
We had Beef Burgandy ...
... and Maggie and I brought the fromage (French cheeses), baguettes , and grapes. (You may recognize my flag pins from when we read Anatole in our Book Club meeting.)
We also had quiche ...
... crepes ...
... and yummy Madeleines!
And, of course, we always have our book table set up for people to peruse!
We started the meeting by locating France together on the world map and the map of the continent of Europe.
Then, we talked about one of its most famous landmarks, the Eiffel Tower.
After our initial introduction to France, we ate lunch! (Here is a picture of Maggie's plate.)
Mags, eating lunch with her best friend, Olivia! :)
Then, we read a couple of books. First, we read The Cat Who Walked Across France by Kate Banks. Maggie loved it because of the cat, of course, but it was very informative about all the things you might see if you went from the top of France all the way to the bottom! It was a great read!
Then, before our next book, Ms. Amber led the kids in a stretching activity to keep their focus. First, we reached to the sky ...
... then, we touched our toes!
Then, we wiggled ...
... and wiggled some more!
Finally, we put our "listening ears" on and got to the second book ...
... Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda.
After our books, we got to work decorating our Valentine boxes. (Maggie wanted to make a robot, so I covered a shoe box in silver paper and let her embellish it.)
All done! Looks great, Mags!
Liam's looked great, too!
And I just died over Olivia's! She loves mermaids and she used real doll hair and a seashell foam sticker to add to her box! Precious!
Here are the girls, with their boxes! They are so cute! :)
Then, it was time to exchange! Here are Liam's and Maggie's boxes, getting full of goodies!
More boxes ...
My friend, Amber, gave each child a box of Sweethearts with these Scripture references! :)
And I took a peek at another great valentine going into our boxes ... melted crayon hearts! Very cool!
Finally, we stamped our passports and called it a day!
Once we got home, Mags was eager to break into her goodies!
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!