Project 365: Weekly Wrap-Up

February 28

The little ones requested to make "an experiment" today. They also call this "making potions." We had to go to Wal-Mart this morning for a plastic tub (Princess birthday party stuff is everywhere!) and some food items. I let them buy some Great Value distilled vinegar and several packs of Kool-Aid, which are vital "potion" supplies. They also used an old science experiment bag of flour, a box of baking soda, empty bottles filled up with water, and some hotel lotions.

This is something they like to do about once a month (although they haven't done it for a few months since it has been so cold outside). They have a great time with big bowls, eye droppers, spoons, measuring cups - whatever they want to take out there as long as they bring it all back inside and clean up their mess.

My 5 year old came inside with this concoction. He said, "Try it!" I said, "No, thank you!" He leaned forward and whispered so sweetly, "Pretend." Ohhh, I'm a little slow sometimes. Me: "Actually, I do want to try it...mmm, this is tasty! Very fruity tasting with some white powdery chunks! Thanks!" He giggled and went back outside.

March 1

We are so relieved; soccer season has returned! Just in time. Our little ball of energy wouldn't be contained (This winter has been hard for him!) within the walls of this house any longer. First practice was tonight. We are so thrilled; his coach from last season agreed to return, and his entire team is back together again.

And I am thrilled about my new printer/scanner/copier we bought after soccer practice. Our old one tanked, and this one is pretty AND wireless! Ryan set all 3 of our computers up to print from it. And it's sitting so nicely in our bedroom. (Our old one would get piled up with papers, etc. sitting in the homeschool room.

The boys always latch right onto big chunks of Styrofoam when purchases like this are made. They make great car garages and fortresses for little plastic monsters. For one day, anyway, before I toss them into recycling.

March 2

Today at his school, Tornado was to dress up like a favorite book character. True to his unique and wonderful self, instead of choosing some ordinary character, my son's costume involved an esophagus and stomach. (This is the child whose Halloween, etc. costumes have consisted of things like "a storm," "a tornado," and a "television." Store-bought stuff isn't fun enough for him.)

If you haven't figured it out, he is the "old lady who swallowed a fly." He LOVES these books. There are quite a few of them if you're not familiar with them. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell (and then there's the Ocean, Sea, Bell, Pie, Trout, Bat, Snow...I think that's it; we have all of them except maybe the Bat one.). They're very catchy and fun to read.

Well, this particular night, the boys had to get haircuts. They both looked handsome and great afterward, but Dash was MORTIFIED when he saw his hair. He couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Fortunately, he waited until we walked out to throw the drama. "I look awful!" "I can't go to school (homeschool co-op) like this!" (That was my favorite one. He said it so DEFINITIVELY, like it was a fact.) "I don't want anyone to see me!" "I can see skin!" He was WAILING.

(Above, he's waving his hands because he didn't even want me to take his picture.) I felt sorry for the guy because I know he really felt embarrassed inside (and having been the queen of feeling embarrassed and self-conscious when I was young, I understand), but it was hard holding in my giggles. Because it really was a nice haircut, and he was really overreacting.

He did, in fact, go into Homeschool Academy wearing a baseball cap the next day. However, he took it off within five minutes and hasn't complained about it since.

March 3
our bedtime stories tonight - all cute and recommended

March 4

Workbox Day

I wrote about my new Workbox System in my last post. We still love them, and they are definitely easier to fill and maneuver.

A few of the things my kindergartener was working on:

Use the blocks to make the patterns on the cards.

I wanted him to do these puzzles, not only for the learning aspect, but I'm trying to go through our puzzles to see which ones are missing pieces, etc.

his Abeka handwriting pages - homework from his Homeschool Academy he attends twice a week

cutting and pasting activities

He had to complete a few pages from this Short Vowel I workbook. I usually put post-its on the pages they need to complete if it's one that I don't want to rip out the pages.

I like this series of vowel sounds workbooks. I think they have been beneficial to both of the boys, and they were a little less than $3 apiece (although some of them I got for half of that price).

A few of the things my 4 year old worked on:

She completed several puzzles. She also worked on some puzzle matching cards I bought at Dollar Tree.

She did a couple of coloring pages and worksheets, too. She is always excited about doing her assignments. She and her oldest brother don't like to stop until their assignments are completed, unlike Dash who likes to try rationalizing that it should be perfectly suitable to watch a long movie after finishing one assignment.

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers link-up

Project 365: New Workbox System and Christmas in February

February 21

I am super-duper excited about my new shelves I bought last night at Office Depot. This is originally what I wanted to use for our Workboxes. However, to save money while finding out if we even wanted to use the Workbox System, I just bought an economy size box (enough for 3 kids) of shoebox size tubs at The Container Store for $30 about a year and a half ago. They work fine, but it was all a little chaotic with tubs and lids everywhere. I love, love my new shelves much better. And they match my house! If you're curious, I paid $59/apiece for these, BUT I found a $30 off (purchase of $150 or more...there are other coupons for other amounts) Office Depot coupon online which helped.

February 22

Tonight (at least an hour before bedtime), Dash came down the stairs with all kinds of blankets and blanket-ish supplies. He said he was "really sleepy and wanted to be comfy and cozy." This is what he looked like on the couch, eyes closed inside this pillow case.

And the next time I walked by him, he now had the Spiderman hooded towel over his head and another blanket on top of him.

February 23

Mondays and Wednesdays are generally Workbox Days. This is one of Dash's.

And one of Sissy's. This is one of the gifts Aunt Cary and family got Sissy for her birthday.

February 24

I said I wasn't going to talk about vegan stuff on this blog anymore, but this really was the most exciting part of our day. And they were the only pictures I ended up taking. The kids were excited to open up our box of goodies from Vegan Essentials.

February 25

I'm continuing on with organizing and moving things around in my house. Everything has been in disarray, and I'm trying to make things fit better. I moved the black shelves from my bedroom to the boys' room (and the red shelves, which now need to be painted pink, to Sissy's room), therefore I moved my scrapbooking stuff to the hallway closet.

Of course, now I've got a find a spot for the stuff I took out of the closet.

I've got some serious piles going on right now. I'm sure my sister Cary's heart is beating faster just looking at these pictures.

Tons of random stuff to put in different tubs in the attic. I'm posting these pictures for this purpose: if you come to my house a month from now, I'll have to feel shame from knowing that you know this mess has been here since February 25.

Plus, it seems like when I post pictures of the good stuff about my life, some people have a negative reaction. Whenever people judge others' lives based on a few blog pictures, they're doing themselves an injustice. I've even had people say they don't want to read my blog because it makes them feel inferior. Huh?! Come on over and meet me sometime.

February 26

Better late than never...somehow we never got to exchange Christmas presents with Ryan's parents. (Snow storms, tornadoes, Ryan's out-of-town trips, birthdays, and illness all got in the way.) They drove down last night, and today the kids got to have a little Christmas in February. And Ryan got to replenish his t-shirt, underwear, and sock supply, which always makes him happy.

February 27

Nona and Grandpa went home today. They give the kids such undivided attention, they are always sorry to see them go! Come back soon!

Week Wrap-Up

January 1, 2011

Ryan took the kids to see Yogi Bear at our brand-new, fancy theater. When they got home, 10 year old Tornado printed off a Yogi Bear page to color. If you want to get them talking, ask them about the movie. They will give you an earful, broken up in hysterics.

January 2

I think the winner of "Most Used Christmas Gift So Far" goes to the basketball goal from Googie and Papaw. It is played several times a day.

January 3

The kids played with their homemade nativity scenes. I saw this idea on Superheroes and Princesses and thought it was so cute because I wanted them to have a nativity to play with. The printable templates can be found at Catholic Icing.

January 4

Papaw had been to the dentist, and his mouth and face weren't feeling well. We were going to drive to his house so I could use their treadmill and juicer. My 5 year old came up to me with a dollar bill in his hand, "I know what will make Papaw feel better!" With a proud smile on his face, he presented Papaw with his gift. Sissy also brought him a quarter.

January 5

A Workbox Day!

What were in the boxes today?

3 year old Sissy

1) She had to follow this pattern with her drill set.

2) Decorate a picture with a page of stickers.

3) Put together her Dora puzzle.

4) Complete a few lessons on Starfall and practice writing the letters she learned.

5) Cut some strips of paper for a later art project.

6) Do a worksheet from her ABC Twiggles preschool curriculum.

7) a ballet tracing words/coloring sheet

5 year old Dash

1) Put together his new puzzle.

2) Create a design with his Connectagons.

3) Work on a few Time4Learning online lessons.

4) Complete a few hidden picture pages.

5) Basketball Graph

(I made graphs for him to keep track of how many shots he makes and misses. A definite hit!)

6) Complete several pages from his homeschool co-op Abeka phonics and math curriculum.

7) Cut some strips of paper for a later art project.

January 6

I blogged about our trip to The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge (based upon the book) and the art project that followed.

January 7

Dash had to complete a journal entry based on his Connectagons creation from Wednesday. He named it "Funny Tree" and wrote: It slides on his hose, and he eats dirt. He slides on his bottom. And he honks his nose."

January 8

Daddy got Sissy dressed after she got out of the shower. She spent the morning, dragging her feet around, declaring, "I don't look pretty!" (She thinks this only because she is wearing jeans.) This was one of the moments when I look at my child and think, "WHO are you?"

January 9

First snow of the year! We were having a family naptime this afternoon. Dash was the first to wake up and realize it was snowing. I could hear him whispering to his brother (the only one who didn't have to nap) who was in his cubby, "Hey! (Brother's name), it's snowing!" Then I could hear them opening the shades and marveling. "We have to tell Mom!" Pretty soon, 6 little eager eyes are peering over me. They were dressed to get outside in, seemingly, record time.

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That's some of our week (leaving out the best part: a fun visit from cousin O and uncle M, which I'll write about another day), which I'm linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. I'm going to try my hand at a version of this Project 365 thing, which I see so many of you doing. (For those of you who don't know, it's basicallly taking a picture every day for a year.) My first 9 days are here, and from now on I think I'll just post one picture a day (since some of my family checks my blog daily).

A Little Bit About Homeschooling My Kindergarten Kid

Our fall schedule is in FULL swing. Here is a basic view of what Dash's life is like right now. One day a week, he attends a music class at a local arts academy. I like this for him a lot, his teacher is fun, and he really enjoys it!

He is also playing soccer for the 3rd year. He continues to love it deeply. He has practice one night a week and games on Saturdays.

He would rather be out on the soccer field than anywhere else. It reminds me why I never turned into a hardcore athlete. It's so hot out, and I'm thinking wow, I'd rather be sitting down, relaxing right now. But not him. He's fully invested and thrives in it.

I love that Dash and Sissy get to spend so much time together while homeschooling. They have so many fun moments (like above - they are so alike in so many ways). However, they fight as hard as they love, which isn't easy on me.

Dash is attending a local homeschool co-op two days a week. The classes he attends are Abeka Phonics, Abeka Math, and P.E. (I am teaching 1st grade Saxon Math at the co-op.) The teacher does lessons with them, and then he has homework to complete at home with me. This was his first day of school. See - he looks pretty proud and excited, right? Honestly, it was pretty awful for me the first couple of weeks.

He has NEVER been good with drop-offs. Even when he was a toddler, he would scream and protest. He would also RUN. HE is the reason our church nursery has a child safety knob. (We bought it for them.) He has gotten no better about new situations. I do believe he wanted to go. He has been talking about "kindergarten" since last year. He just gets really shy and nervous, and it comes out of his body in the form of running and protesting.

Fingers crossed - his last three or four drop-offs have been SUPERB. I think he has started making friends and is comfortable now. He has around 5 or 6 kids in his class, which I think is perfect. He also has P.E. with his class and the first and second graders, which I also think is really great.

Reptiles, amphibians, and insects still make their way into our home on a regular basis. This is one toad he brought in to show me. And the other day, I opened the toilet lid downstairs, and there was a pudgy toad sitting on the seat. I hollered. I'm not actually scared of critters; it just took me off guard. The toad hopped to the floor, and I was having a hard time catching it. Dash came to check what was going on, he declared, "I've got this!" And he did. After the toad peed on my floor.

We are using The Workbox System. I actually purchased Sue Patrick's ebook with printables and the plastic tubs the year before last when we were still homeschooling Tornado. We used them for a couple of months, then put them away last year after Tornado started public school and Dash was in preschool.

They work really well for Dash. He is a child who needs constant activity, or he gets himself into "T"rouble. Now he can see right in front of him what is expected. I fill each box (between 8-12) with a variety of activities - workbook pages, mazes, file folder games, puzzles, alphabet cards, etc.

This is his completed magnet building. I love that he made it symmetrical on his own. And then of course, we could talk about the definition of "symmetrical."

When he completes the activity in the box, he takes the velcro number off the box and puts it on his chart.

Sissy has workboxes, too, but she doesn't really like to do anything by herself. And she's going through a "crying when frustrated in the least little bit" phase. I give her about 4 boxes a day and then to prepare to pretty much do it right along side of her. Dash is actually really patient with helping her, too.

This particular box: he had to go through the book and make all of the letters with the foam pieces provided. I was proud of him because he took it upon himself to also form the lower case letters, too, even though they aren't included in the book.

This is the book.

He doesn't always agree to me taking his picture, though.

Here is just an activity the kids have done several times with Daddy. I bought the Mentos experiment package (for around $5) at Hobby Lobby a couple of times, but I know you can do it without that.

It makes it easier with the string to pull, though.

You pull it, then run out of the way. You can read the scientific explanation here.

This was actually one of their wimpier "explosions."

It never gets old.

Linking up to Weekly Wrap-up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. I hope to start joining in regularly.