Elementary Round-up/Preschool Corner/Weekly Wrap-up/It's Playtime!

Last week, the kids and I were fortunate enough to join my husband on his business trip in Dallas. We knew he would be very busy with work, but we planned on relaxing in the hotel with our schoolwork and finding great restaurants and museums to visit all week.

The thing I don't like about Dallas is the traffic. I mean, truly, I think I prefer driving in L.A. and NYC. We did venture off to a few great vegetarian restaurants (here's one), but we ended up spending a lot of our time right next door to our hotel - at the Grapevine Mills Mall, just because it was easier.

We had never been here, and in fact, we RARELY go to malls period. We rarely go shopping at all, so it was pretty fun. I remembered why I rarely go to malls; I strive to be as unmaterialistic as possible, but I become intoxicated by all of the clothes, etc., especially at the children's stores. Tornado found a rolling backpack for only $8 at Gap; (and I had almost spent $60 on one the other day!) he really needed one for all of his heavy books and folders at our home school co-op. And of course, Sissy found some cute clothes. Unborn Baby Junior also scored a few cute hats and outfits.

So this was sort of my goal going into the mall: take our time and just have fun. That seems like common sense enough. But I feel like I'm always rushing the kids, always on our way from Point A to Point B. And I don't generally like to spend money on certain things. However, I decided that since this was our mini-vacation, I would let the kids go into any store they wanted and take part in any activity they wanted.

First up was Euro Bobbles, one of the many activities in the center aisle of the mall. My 6 year old wanted to do this. For $7 (which gets you 3 minutes), you crawl into a big, deflated ball which is then inflated.

And you get to roll around in a big pool of water, try to walk, etc. Well, Dash was in there for about one minute before he panicked to get out. (You couldn't hear him, just see his wide eyes and mouth moving, "Let me out!" He said he couldn't breathe (and I think it was just hard to maneuver), even though there is plenty of air in there.

The lady got him out and let my 4 year old daughter use up the remaining time.

She was giggly and had more fun in there than he did. I don't blame him, though. I would have been claustrophobic, too.

There was a Hurricane-Simulator booth, and I excitedly asked Tornado (my storm-obsessed child) if he wanted to get in it. This was his immediate reaction (above). He was clutching his throat with one hand and covering his face with the other. Sheer panic and terror. I've had to explain to people before that even though he loves watching storm videos, reading about storms, talking about them - he does NOT enjoy being IN them. He did not want to go in; the other two wanted to go in, but they wouldn't do it unless their big brother was in their to protect them. So we moved on to the next thing.

See - really; it's the little things that are the most fun to them. We stood here as long as they wanted while I fed them penny after penny to release in the charity funnel.

My 6 year old actually did this activity the next day on our return visit. He really wanted to do it, but this also ended up really scaring him (although I think he would say overall it was fun). He's such an adventurous kid, always up to something, but when it comes down to it, he's all talk. He gets so nervous and hesitant, and he inherited my self-consciousness. The harness/trampoline takes you pretty high into the air.

One of the great things at this mall is the LEGOLAND Discovery Center (one of many locations in the U.S. and overseas). We went back the next day for our visit here. I had wanted to peek in (our first day) and make sure it was something we even wanted to do (since it is pricey - around $17/adult & $13/child IF you buy them online; they're more at the door).

Well, one peek inside was all it took to convince my kids. Tornado, in particular, couldn't wait to go to sleep the night before because he knew the quicker he went to sleep, the sooner we would start our day at LEGOLAND. I love that innocent kind of wonder.

I had read a few reviews on Trip Advisor, etc. that said a visit here was not worth the money. For us, I thought it was. I think they really make it seem kind of spectacular for the kids. After you pay, you wait for your "tour" to start. You can play with Legos outside the door as it counts down time, then the door opens, and you are greeted by Professor Brick-a-Brack. It's not an actual factory, of course - but this pretend version of one which is used to explain the process in which Legos are made. My kids liked this.

At the end of the talk, they make it seem like special Legos come out of the machine especially for this group of kids. They each get a wrapped, souvenir-logo Lego to take home.

Then they are immediately ushered into the first ride (which you could skip if you wanted to). They also liked this. It's a laser shooting type ride in which you earn points from hitting the targets. This is the thing I don't like about the whole Lego world; there are some scary Lego figures, which we don't own, like ghoulish ones and skeleton-faced ones - and ones with scary weapons. I just don't like that stuff, and I think it's unnecessary for kids. There was that sort of thing on this ride (including the fact that you're essentially shooting the bad guys), so skip this ride if you don't like that.

The main draw for my kids was the multi-level play area. (Tornado: top right corner)

I was worried that my 11 year old would be too tall to enter. I asked them the day before if he'd be too tall, but the guys were sort of like, "Eh, it's fine; it's really that we just don't want rambunctious teenagers mixed in with the little kids." He made the 4'9" cut, regardless, but it was close.

One great thing about LEGOLAND for my waddly pregnant self was the ability to sit for long periods and watch the kids play. (The whole place is designed with the perfect mixture of parent/child interaction and solo child play.) They stayed at this roll-y slide for quite awhile. If you look closely, you can see that Sissy's pants accidentally came down a time or two when Dash playfully grabbed at her. To tell me about it, he whispered through the net, "I have to tell you a secret, and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING!"

There is another ride (that just goes around and around, but you can also make it go up and down by pedaling). It totally made me nauseous, even though the lady assured me that it wouldn't. And I'm sure it was quite a sight to see a large pregnant woman, trying with all her might, to pedal her car up into the air. (I rode with Sissy, and they got an employee to ride with Dash since kids can't ride alone.)

One big room (Mini-Land) is filled with miniature Lego cities (including Dallas, even the Dallas ranch) and towns. The lights in the buildings even come on as the overhead lights dim occasionally.

There is also a theater (the size of an actual small movie theater) inside the discovery center. There are three 15 minute 4-D movies. We ended up watching two of them, back to back. The kids thought they were cute. It's very interactive; they even spray a fine mist (you don't really get wet) of water across the crowd when the 4-D water seems to be coming out at you.

There are many Lego stations where the kids can create,
a big, slide play area,
and EVEN...a Princess Palace,
complete with karaoke. My princess wasted no time getting up on stage.

There are bins where you can create your own Lego cars,
and different ramps where you can race them against each other.

throwing coins in the crocodile's (alligator's?) mouth outside the Rainforest Cafe gift shop

My big surprise for the kids was lunch at Rainforest Cafe, which is also inside the mall. They were super excited when they'd seen the signs the day before. (They knew about Rainforest Cafe from television commercials and always declared they wanted to go there.)

It was hard to get pictures inside the cafe because it is so dark. The lighting actually changes, including light and sound changes for storms while you are dining. It really is decorated amazingly with huge fish tanks and large, life-like animals that really move and make noises.

There were a couple of vegetarian options on the menu for the kids. The great thing was that we were able to play at LEGOLAND for about an hour and a half, get our hands stamped, eat lunch, then return for another hour to play.

I promised the kids (with good behavior) they could pick out something in the gift shop. The boys each chose a $3 "mystery" pack. They've gotten these before, and we think they're pretty fun. You don't know what miniature Lego character you're going to get. They also got to create their own Lego characters to take home. They chose the faces, hair or hat, shirt, and legs.

Then, they got to put them in these empty packages to be rung up and purchased. I thought this was a fun idea.

Back at the Hotel

I've said it before: some of my favorite moments in life are the ones when I see my kids cuddling up together without any prompting from me. This was first thing in the morning, and although they hadn't all three slept together, somehow they all ended up like this while they were trying to wake up.

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Life in General This Week

This week has been a crazy mass of preschool, homeschool co-op, soccer, ballet, Awanas, piano lessons, 2 field trips, and grocery shopping. All weeks of my life are busy naturally, but THIS WEEK...somehow from Tuesday upon waking until...well...right now, I haven't stopped. Ryan keeps laughing at me (good-naturedly, of course) because I have only been able to "hobble" the past two days - I've run myself down so much, my back and legs are aching. I was so tired, I slept through my alarm (on my phone) twice, making us rush to get ready for our morning obligations.

Fun Friday Night and Upcoming Plans

Tonight was a really sweet night which included a dance party and watching parts of old videos (some I don't think I've ever watched back) of the boys when they were little and chubby-faced. I totally cried (especially listening to my 11 year old babbling before he could even talk!), and it made me additionally excited about having another baby. My goal in the upcoming month is to get all of our videos transferred to DVD, with extra copies for the safety deposit box.

Linkin' up:

Elementary Round-Up, hosted by Granola Mom 4 God

Weekly Wrap-Up, hosted by Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

It's Playtime!, hosted by hands on: as we grow, The Imagination Tree, Messy Kids, Quirky Momma, and Let the Children Play

Preschool Corner, hosted by Homeschool Creations

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up Journal

As usual, my "weekly" wrap-up has evolved into a past-three weeks' wrap-up. Here is a little of what has been going on:

In my life this week:
One event we attended this week was an eco-fest in our town. We attended last year, and it seemed to have grown. We didn't even have time to go around to all of the booths and activities. Here are a few photos from the event:

Kids were able to decorate their own kites made from paper, sticks, and tape.

Dash LOVED this. He flew this around outside at home, too, every chance he got - until the kite was literally in shreds and wouldn't fly anymore.

Sissy - I loved her innocent giggles as she ran around, flying her kite.

Tornado liked reading the interactive signs along the path.

Tornado (left) and Sissy (right) made (with help) rag dolls at one booth.

They also made cloth flower pins with fabric scraps.

Here are their creations (top left: Dash, then Sissy's and Tornado's). Each piece was hot glued together, and there is a pin hotglued on the backing, made of a denim scrap.

We were so happy that a health food store had a booth with snacks for sale. The kids actually got to each pick out a ...gasp...natural soda!

The cardboard box maze was once again a hit with the kids. It was the main reason they were looking forward to attending eco-fest, in hopes there would be one.

In our homeschool this week:
A few "homeschooling" photos I captured the past few weeks:
Tornado, cuddled up with Daddy on the couch, working on his Flying Creatures science curriculum. I really, really love working with him on his American history homework because it's so interesting to learn about/remember things I once learned about. Science sometimes hurts my brain, though, so I occasionally pass this off to my scientifically minded husband.

Dash really loves science. We are working through the Abeka Science 1 book together, which includes hands-on activities and experiments with almost every lesson. Here he had to create a ramp.

And a lever.

Some of my 6 year old's workbox activities this week:

To break up all of the schoolwork, I'll often include an assignment like "Watch an episode of Wild Kratts (which he loves), then write a journal entry about something you learned." I write it, then he copies it.

We played a Diego 123 Game together. And he worked on his piano lessons.

After he finished his Sight Words workbook, I tested him on all of the words. I've traced with stencils any he couldn't read AND spell, and he'll be working on activities to help him master these words. (Every few days to a week, depending how long it takes, I give him 4 or 5 words with different activities I've made up.) Here, he had to cover the letters with dried garbanzo beans.

The next day, he colored in each word.

Places we're going and people we're seeing:
*Ryan's parents came to visit one weekend.

*My 4 year old and 6 year old started Awanas last week (on Wednesday nights). My 6 year old thinks it is "Iguanas." I've corrected him a few times, but it's so funny and cute I don't try too hard. We really wanted our 11 year old to attend, as well. I registered him. But he walked in, took one look at it, became overwhelmed with all of the kids and noise, and wanted no part of it. It wasn't an ideal scenario for him. Anyway, the two little ones had a great time, were super excited to see some of their friends, and are doing a great job with their scripture memorization.

*We've been in Dallas since Tuesday, so we brought our schoolwork with us. Ryan had to be here on business. He has had a lot of business trips this year, and we hate it when our family is apart. So this time, we joined him! I'll write about our trip next week.

My favorite thing this week was:
My kids have just been really funny this week. And sweet. We've laughed a lot. And I've obviously enjoyed not having any dishes to wash, meals to prepare, etc. while we're on our trip.

Things I'm working on:
Budget! We've got some "ideas" in the works for our lives, and we need to figure out how to afford them. I ordered several bulk food items off Amazon Subscribe & Save last week. The prices are much better than what I pay in the store. I am trying to research the most practical order to place with Azure and Country Life Natural Foods next time around.

I'm grateful for(#381- 389 on my Gratitude List): all of the sweet well wishes we've received from our family and friends for our baby due in January, time off this week in Texas, free hotel!, those who took over my teaching duties this week so I could have a day off, Spiral Diner, Cafe Bliss, Whole Foods, and cell phones. I'm also relieved when my 4 year old who until now knew NO letters or even cared to know them came up to me this morning and said, "X is for x-ray! And R is for Remi!" - and then later..."A, A apple." There's hope!

Questions/thoughts I have: Unfortunately and sadly...one of Ryan's grandfathers (his Dad's father) died yesterday. He has been in poor health for a long time. I feel worried for Ryan as he is so immersed in his business obligations this week, and now he has this to think about. His shoulders were sagging last night...He has an important job to do overnight Friday-Saturday here in Texas...then has to figure out how to get from Dallas to Arkansas to Illinois by Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Or go straight from Texas? When to buy something to wear to the funeral? Do we all go? Pay almost $2,000 in airfare? Or drive 6 hours home (after Ryan being up all night working), pick up our dogs, re-pack, then drive another 7-8 hours late to be there in time for the funeral. We know it is a privilege to take a moment out of our otherwise unimportant activities to say good-bye to a very important person...Ryan just has a lot to think about, regarding what is the best way to go about that.

Photo to share:

One homeschooling activity the younger two kids really enjoy is homeschooling martial arts, which is twice a month. They go around the house all of the time, doing their little jabs and kicks, saying, "Key-yu!" (or however you spell it). What I love about martial arts is the respect that the kids are taught. Grandmaster Han is a Christian and operates his academies accordingly. A few of the training principles the kids are taught to repeat include: be polite, be patient, be alert, be brave, do your best, and respect yourself and others. And they insist that "ma'am" and "sir" be used!

Great Links:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Weekly Wrap-up

The Homeschool Chick: Homeschool Mother's Journal

Preschool Corner: Leaves and Apples

This year I am teaching the K-4 class at our homeschool co-op. My Father's World kindergarten curriculum is used for this group. Every week there is a new theme. The other preschool teacher begins the lesson on Tuesday, and I wrap it up on Thursday. There are suggestions for books, discussion ideas, and activities included in the curriculum. Here are some of the activities I added myself during our Leaf and Apple weeks:

I had asked my own kids at h0me to gather dry, brown leaves outside for me to take to school. I let the kids make a big mess on the table crumbling up the leaves. (One even told her mom after class, "We got to make a mess!" I drew the outline of a leaf with glue on a piece of construction paper and let them fill in the inside with glue.

Then, they used their crumbled leaves to cover the glue. After they finished covering the glue, they gently shook the paper to remove the extra pieces of leaves.

I also gathered all different shapes of leaves from my house. I made outlines of several of the leaves on a piece of paper and asked my students to find the matches. We also talked about "largest" and "smallest," leaves, etc.


They picked a couple of their leaves to make leaf rubbings. I wrote their "words to remember" (which are something they learn each week as a part of the MFW curriculum) on their paper and asked them to each hold up their paper and recite their words.

They all got a straw to blow a leaf across the table. We had several races to see who could get a leaf across the table the fastest.

Our last leaf activity: I bought wooden (2/$1) leaves at Hobby Lobby, and they had fun creatively painting their leaves.

One activity for apple leaf used their cutting and coloring skills. They colored their apples (which I found at kidssoup.com), then cut the apple along the wavy lines. They had to glue the pieces of their apple back together on construction paper. Again, I wrote their "words to remember" on their apples and asked them to recite them.

I printed off another page of a tree scene. The kids got to stick their fingers in green, red, and yellow paint to make apples for their trees. This was also used as a counting activity.

I also brought my fall sensory tub to school with me. Tornado, Dash, and Sissy have been busy at home, playing with it.


The tub included dry split peas and various other dry beans (FYI: raw kidney beans are toxic so you have to watch out for those), cinnamon sticks, wooden leaves & acorns, plastic leaf and pumpkin buttons, felt owls, tin buckets in different sizes, peat pots, pine cones, and a miniature rake, hoe, and shovel from the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby.

During Apple Week, I also added the red, yellow, and green craft pom pons to be used as apples.

I asked the kids to sort the items by type into the muffin tins. Then, they played store and restaurant for half an hour.

Linking up to Preschool Corner!

&

The Sunday Showcase

New Bikes and Pinnacle Mountain Picnic

One of the biggest additions to our family lately (besides the baby news, of course, if you missed my last post) are new bikes for the kids. We bought them (used) a couple of weekends ago, and they've been a hit around here. Because we don't have a great place to ride bikes, our kids' cycling skills weren't up to par. Sissy couldn't even ride a tricycle. She never learned, and now she was too big for one. Feeling shame on our parts, we loaded the kids up one day and headed off to buy bikes and helmets.

I love Sissy's Schwinn because it reminds me of a bike I might have had when I was little. She's really great at riding now. They love for Ryan to go with them on long rides in our neighborhood as often as possible.

Dash is still using training wheels. I don't think it will be too much longer before he can take them off. He can steer down an incline without them on; he just can't pedal without them yet.

Dash

And we also got Tornado a bike, but we haven't found the right training wheel match-up yet. It's hard to find a bike with training wheels that is big enough for his long legs. We're also looking into getting him one of those low rider bikes for older kids/adults. And we're trying to encourage him because it's just not something he's as interested in. When something is physically challenging, he wants no part in it, and we're working on making it an attainable activity for him.

Friday night, Ryan suggested we meet him in Little Rock for supper. We picked up food from Whole Foods, then met him at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. It had been awhile since the kids had been to that side of the mountain, and it felt all new and exciting for them.

The kids played on the playground for quite awhile after we ate, while Ryan and I had a rare moment of sitting alone to talk and watch them. We also walked through one of the trails along the creek. Fun night, and it wore the kids out. I think they all fell asleep (or close to it) on the way home.

Just a heads up since I haven't been posting as much lately; I have several posts going up this week so check back!

Surprise!

In my May 10 Project 365 blog post, I left the spot for May 4th empty and wrote: I think I have the perfect picture for this day, but I can't get to it right now. Will post another day.

Here is that picture:

It's true. I'm now almost 22 weeks and not sure why it has taken me so long to write this post. Mostly just being busy. (I started writing this weeks ago.) Maybe also because pregnancy always feels a little surreal to me? Maybe I have seen too often that things can go wrong, and I've been holding my breath? I actually had an early miscarriage in March; if you've ever had a miscarriage, you know that it's very emotional. I have a really bad habit of guarding my heart in important situations. Every month, I would say that I'm going to announce it after my doctor appointment...then a week would go by, and I'd think, "Maybe I'll just wait until we hear the heartbeat one more time."

Regardless, I'm pregnant, and if you've seen me anytime in the past...well, let's be honest, 18 weeks - you've known it was true. My dear practically blind grandfather guessed I was expecting when I was about 9 weeks along.

This picture was taken at 15 weeks. I'm getting bigger (ahem...everywhere) by the day.

at 19 weeks

The kids were soooo excited when Ryan and I told them the news, when I was 11 weeks along. There was a lot of squealing going on. They all wanted to offer their services in helping with the baby. They had been asking for another sibling for quite some time. We just had to wait until Daddy was on board, too. (Which is funny because now HE wants 5 kids!)

And here's a little surprise to some, even for my family...

It's a boy!!!

I wanted to make the "boy" news special for the kids. On the way home from the ultrasound, I stopped by the party store to pick up baby blue plates, napkins, and balloons. I also told everyone they had to wear a blue shirt at supper, although they didn't know why. Ryan took the kids in the other room while I decorated the table. I said, "Surprise! Guess what?" Tornado was the first one to say, "It's a boy!"

They were laughing and glowing at the ultrasound pictures. (I mean, a picture of a baby "weiner" - how fun is that!) I love that all along they didn't care whether it was going to be a boy or a girl. There was a little bit of discussion about wanting a girl to even things up, but mostly it was unanimous that we all just wanted another addition to our family, no matter what.

I'm really happy that our boy will get to be friends with the 3 youngest cousins (all boys!) in our family (2 on my side, 1 on Ryan's). Get excited: R, P, and K; a new friend is on the way!

happy smiles

Sissy was jumping up and down, squealing.

We enjoyed our meal together while we talked about names, etc. They have suggested some really sweet ideas with such sincerity.

After supper, we drove to Old Navy and let the kids each pick out an outfit for the baby. Sissy went with sweet owls, Dash chose Superman, and Tornado picked Star Wars. I think they made great choices.