Night of the Ninja

Konnichiwa!!! We started off the day with our ninja masks! It's always more fun and memorable when we dress up!

Scotty was definitely excited to learn about ninja, and when we arrived, Graham and Eva were excited to get their own masks on, too! I love the intensity in this pic.

And with their adventure vests on.

We all practiced ninja stealth: quiet feet, staying low, crawling, creeping and balancing. When I told them to hide like ninja, suddenly everyone was gone! (Next time I want some quiet...remind me to do this.)

Then we read "Wink, the ninja who wanted to be noticed" by JC Phillipps, which was great fun. Then we sat down to lunch where Estee made some Asian broccoli and rice with teriyaki meatballs! Mmmm! Next, we read "Night of the Ninjas" (Magic Tree House #5) as Estee cut some cool ninja throwing stars! That was a hit!

We gathered everyone (except sleeping babies) together to do group music class! This week we are learning "Haiku" together (originally a Faber piano piece that I arranged as a simple duet for our little group) and we reviewed some simple songs and our previous correlating Magic Treehouse songs: Gentle Knight and Three Pirates. I'm so happy we are getting to the point that we can play instruments together and have fun! (And not just because of bribes!) This week Bella realized that the point is to have a good attitude, learn to concentrate well, and have fun along the way! I'm so glad Will was a good example of that (as were the older kids, but I think Will was more influential this time). Eva did great this time, as well! The boys always have a good attitude. I think they don't mind as much if they leave out a note or two- whereas our girls are all-or-nothing. Baby steps! I'm glad this week went great, and I wasn't even able to play my violin with them because I was holding Joseph, who woke up early from his nap.

Then, we (finally) gathered the Furious Five for a picture with their shuriken (throwing stars).

And...this is how ninja say goodbye.