Pretend Play

One of my favorite things about being home with the kids all day is listening to them while they play. This afternoon they were pretending... As I listened in, I was able to determine that Alex was pretending to be Cheryl (my sister-in-law) and Nathan was pretending to be Bill (my husband). Alex asked me if I liked his "dress" and Nathan created suspender looking straps for his attire (no, Bill does not wear suspenders). They were too funny. When they informed me they were going to work, I asked Alex where he worked and he said PBS. Then I asked Nathan where he worked and he promptly replied IDEA (not sure if that is how he'd spell it, but it's the best I can do). When I asked him where IDEA is, he astutely replied, "It's where I work." I just love the way their little minds think!

Introduction to Chopsticks

Today we read A Pair of Red Clogs and just like the other books we've read so far as part of our Five in a Row curriculum, we all enjoyed it immensely. It is such a sweet story about honesty, and a wonderful introduction to some Japanese culture. So today for lunch we sat in the den and ate at the coffee table. That in itself is nothing extraordinary - we do that all of the time! But this time, we sat on pillows and we ate steamed white rice with chopsticks. It was so fun to watch the boys attempt to get the rice between the two chopsticks and carefully direct them into their mouths. Alex did fairly well, even though he used two hands. It takes a lot of practice to master the one-handed method! Nathan finally reverted to his trusty fork to enable bigger bites. But Alex never gave up. He ate and ate, even if he was getting only a couple grains of rice at a time. We had so much fun with this, that when dinner time rolled around, we pulled out the chopsticks once again. It was quite the multicultural meal as we ate our spaghetti with our chopsticks!

Like The Title Picture?

Bill doesn't. So it will change soon, if anything because I want to change the whole look to be more seasonal. But I personally like this picture because it truly captures my kids. When you go to take their picture, that's what they do! Granted, I did have a couple others where Amy was making her gigantic silly smile. But I like this one... Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil. Yes, that picture exemplifies my three precious little monkeys - my family zoo!

Guys and Girls Day Out

Today my little family zoo split up and went our separate ways.

Bill has always had a fascination with rocks and fossils and the like. So when the Houston Gem & Mineral Society sponsors a rock, gem, mineral, and fossil show, you can bet my husband is going. And what wonderful father wouldn't take along his two sons, one of whom (Nathan) definitely shares his interest in rocks. So off they went early this morning and what a blast they had using hammers and screwdrivers to break out plastic dinosaurs embedded in a concrete type material (the "dinosaur dig"), playing games to win miscellaneous rocks, and shopping the many tables of generously priced rock and mineral specimens.






After the exciting time at the rock show, the guys finished out the fun outing with a trip to McDonald's followed by a haircut (how exciting is that?! ;) ).

Meanwhile... Amy and I spent the day going to the library and shopping. When lunch time had arrived and Amy, in her sweet, soft voice informed me, "I ungry", we headed to Starbucks where I got to enjoy a pumpkin-spiced latte (SOOO good) and Amy got to sip an ice water and eat cranberry bread, sliced cheese and fruit. A girl's day can't get any better!

Learning Incentive?

Not too long ago I mentioned in a post about Alex wanting to incorporate superheroes into our lessons. He had found a way by making his own story book combining The Story about Ping and one of his favorite superheroes, Batman. But it made me realize that I needed to find a way to use Alex's interest in superheroes to encourage him in our lessons. So I did a little research online... I came across a book called Superhero ABC. It only took a few days to consider, and then I ordered it. The book arrived yesterday and I must say, it was a hit! With any luck, it will help Alex to recognize his letters better. And if anything, I realize I found a book that Alex will no doubt enjoy - even if it's just looking at the pictures!

*** Some of the pictures are a tad gross, however. Just a warning for anyone who might consider ordering this for their own superhero fan! ***

No School Today

I'm happy to report that Amy did better last night. She had a low grade fever all day and took an hour or so long nap yesterday afternoon. Of course, that meant that she was wide awake until sometime between 10 and 10:30 (not sure when because I fell asleep, too). She was a little restless during the night, but no crying. Of course, yesterday afternoon I discovered that Alex was running fever, too. So today we will be watching way too much television and resting.

Prayers for a Good Day

Prayers would be appreciated today. Amy has been showing some cold symptoms over the past few days, though I thought it might just be the weather or perhaps a result of more frequent crying episodes. But then last night she was sniffling so much I went ahead and gave her some cold medicine. She was very pleasant while we read books and happy when we turned off the light to go to bed, though perhaps a tad hyper. Bill told me to go on downstairs and he'd continue to stay with Amy until she fell asleep. Normally, I wouldn't accept this offer as it hardly seems fair (Amy sometimes doesn't go to sleep for a good 45 minutes to an hour). But I did have more laundry to tend to and lesson plans to make. So I went on down. Amy did finally fall asleep at about 9:30, but less than an hour later she woke again... and that was basically the end of our night. We spent the rest of the evening walking Amy around and trying to get her to stop crying. She complained that her mouth hurt and she complained that she was hungry and that she wanted to go downstairs. It was really odd and nothing we'd ever experienced with her before. Stating she's hungry is a habit of hers, though we did take her downstairs to find her something to eat. In the end, however, that didn't appear to be what she wanted because our efforts just upset her more. Bill was able to get her to fall asleep if he walked her around, but she'd wake each time he'd try to put her down in the bed. I was having a really hard time, too, because I'd taken some Benodryl for my own cold-like symptoms and felt too tired to function as the night progressed. She did eventually stay asleep sometime after midnight, but she woke many other times througout the night and would cry for awhile.

This morning she woke up happy and is currently eating her breakfast. I don't know exactly what was going on last night, but I felt so helpless. It was horrible knowing that something was making her that upset, but I had no way of knowing what it was or how to treat it. Of course, I am so tired this morning that I plan to keep homeschooling short and sweet and we'll take our time doing it! I was thankful when Alex's speech therapist called this morning and canceled our morning session - no doubt a blessing under the circumstances. Now we can stay in today and rest!

Please pray for Amy - that she is over whatever she was experiencing last night and that she has a calm day of rest and a good night's sleep tonight. And please pray for me that I will not become overwhelmed by the tasks of the day and that I will be able to maintain a peaceful home despite being sleep deprived.

Afternoon with Daddy

Bill loves to collect. He collects old cameras, coins, rocks, stamps, arrow heads, hiking equipment, backpacks.... okay, maybe I'm being just a tad sarcastic with a couple of those, but he does love to collect! And on Saturday, he and Celeste's husband Brian (and their son Jacob) went to a stamp show. Bill said he saw many children there who were enjoying picking out free stamps and he thought he might like to share his love for stamp collecting with his own kids. So Sunday after church and lunch, he bravely took all three kids back to the stamp show. I must say, they really did have fun. I don't think Amy got all that into it, but Nathan and Alex each collected quite a lot of neat stamps, and they even each won a door prize! I think Bill is just excited that they showed some interest in one of his hobbies. Of course, Nathan is already collecting rocks everywhere he goes... and he has a love for coins (money), too. I think that one is going to be just like his daddy!

And did I mention that when they got home from the stamp show, Bill took all three outside to play until dinnertime??? They had such a great time with their dad and I was able to finally tend to my own collection: laundry.

Dodging the Bullet

I am so thankful that despite the original forecast for Tropical Storm Humberto to come barreling in right over top of us, it decided to make landfall a little east of us, just enough to put us on the good side of the storm. I was expecting pouring down rain all night and we were planning to make a pallet on our bedroom floor for children who we knew would want to sleep there. But alas, it is quiet outside and everyone is peacefully sleeping in their own beds. I think it's about time I, too, call it a night...

Is it Week Three Already?

This morning Alex informed me that the way we are doing things is "driving him crazy". Where'd he get that phrase? Oh, yeah... Hmm... So anyway, he rambled off some explanation that made me realize he just doesn't like sitting at the table to do his book work. So I suggested we spread a blanket in the den and do our work in there. That worked well, although I do need to make a few changes to account for certain siblings who tend to distract a particular student. But at least he was more willing to do his workbook lessons. I also pulled out the big dry erase board and that worked great when discussing how to correctly write his letters. He loved writing on it! We also read our story on our blanket, and I do think Alex paid more attention in this setup. Nathan and Amy were a bit more energetic, but thankfully, they all love the story for this week, Lentil, and listened fairly well as we read. We may keep the blanket thing for this week and just see how it goes.



We also started our music appreciation today and had our first "Tea Party". This was definitely my favorite part of our day. I let the kids drink coffee (actually milk with a little coffee) while we ate cinnamon scones and listened to classical music. We were supposed to listen to music specifically by Beethoven. The library book I read to them called The Heroic Symphony was supposed to have an accompanying CD. But when I went to get the CD from the book, I found it to be missing. Oh, well. We still enjoyed the book and everyone enjoyed the cookies. Nathan especially enjoyed the coffee - he downed it in no time and was asking for more. Alex, however, decided he did not like coffee. I think next week, he'll be asking for milk. And notice... I actually let them use my breakable dishes! I'm still not brave enough to use the good China, but they seemed happy enough with my Pfaltzgraff. :)

Welcome Home!

All this week Alex has been a little off, and I've thought it most likely because of all the medicine I have been giving him for his cold-like symptoms. And though I'm sure that was part of it, there is no doubt in my mind that a big part of his solemn mood was because he missed his daddy, who has been out of town all week. My proof is the complete change in Alex's demeanor since coming home from co-op this afternoon and finding Daddy already home. All three kids were so excited to see their daddy, but I've noticed the biggest excitement from Alex. And of course, Daddy made it even better by spending the whole afternoon with his kiddos, and letting his very tired wife have an afternoon to run errands with NO tagalongs! Then HE cooked dinner (grilled the burgers) and HE gave them their baths. He built a fire out on the deck and let them make smores. And now - the big finale - he is in the den with all three kids in sleeping bags under an indoor tent. I've been told to go up ALONE for a quiet shower and perhaps a little tv time, or whatever I choose to do with my time. I am so fortunte to have such a thoughtful husband! And he's done all this in full knowledge that tomorrow morning he will be watching all of them once again while I go to a used book sale with Celeste. Again - what a lucky woman I am!!! Thank you, Sweetheart - you are the BEST!!!!

Check out the fun in pictures:

I Hungry

These are Amy's favorite words. There was a time when she'd say them and really mean it. But now... Well, I'm pretty sure she says them more out of habit. These are the words of choice first thing in the morning (which might be a more truthful occurence), directly after breakfast, several times througout the morning, before lunch, right after lunch, all afternoon, before dinner, just after dinner and then - my favorite - just as we climb into bed each night. I promise I really do feed her!!!

Has it been Two Weeks Already?

I can't believe we've been homeschooling for almost two weeks now. Today was a very busy day - we finished all of our lessons, attended speech therapy and art class, I did two loads of laundry, mopped and vacuumed the downstairs, and picked up all of the toys and various papers that have been cluttering our living space (have I ever shared with you just how much Alex likes to draw and cut out???). Last night we had Mission Friends and everyone got to bed a little late as a result. And of course, that means more fussing and fighting among siblings througout the day. But I think some of that is really just their needing time to adjust. Each week, our schedule changes as new activities start up and we continue to figure out how best to work our school schedule. I'll be glad when it all settles down into routine.

After two weeks - even though we are certainly busy all of the time - I can honestly say I love it! I don't have everything exactly as I want it just yet, however. I think our current schedule is working just fine and we are getting through all of our lessons, but I definitely want to make it more fun if I can. I have read a lot from other blogger friends about the Charlotte Mason method discussed in Elizabeth Foss' book Real Learning... I have not read this book yet, but have heard such great things and feel the methods described in the book would benefit any homeschooling family. I'm going to read it first chance I get (can I borrow it, Celeste? :) ). I've seen wonderful examples set by friends and can't wait to see how we might be able to implement some of the ideas into our own daily routine!

The Story about Ping... and Batman

Alex often asks if we are going to do superheroes in our homeschooling. Sadly, I tell him no, we won't be talking about superheroes as part of our lessons, but that he can play superheroes after we finish. Of course, if you are clever enough, there is always a way...

This morning, we read The Story about Ping for the second time; the kids all like this book. As part of our art study, we drew pictures yesterday similar to the pictures in the book and they had fun with that. Today, after we had finished, Alex decided to make his own book... It took four illustrations to tell the story of Batman Saves Ping. You may have difficulty making out the story from the pictures, but basically, Ping is in the water, there's fire, and Batman puts out the fire with water and saves Ping. Alex's version of the story is of course filled with many more exciting details than that and is no doubt an interesting spin off the classic story. :)

This one confuses me a bit... There are two batmen - one is half batman and half spiderman...

Here Batman has changed into his "water suit"...


Batman is throwing water down onto the fire to rescue Ping...


Batman has saved the day...

Not a Game for Little Ones

My poor boys... They want to play this game and so does Amy. The only problem is, Amy is way too young to understand the object of the game. In her opinion, the marbles are hers. She has no problem putting them into everyone's slot before the game begins. But once the balls are released and those hippos start chomping, Amy starts screaming. She frantically makes a grab - with her hands - for every marble she sees, all the while screaming as though the world is coming to an end. After a few attempts at it, we finally gave up and I told the boys this will just have to be a game we play when someone is available to distract Amy. We put the game up at least 10 minutes ago... She's still screaming...