Monday, February 28, 2011

WOW!

WOW! (World of Wonder) Children's Museum in Lafayette was the chosen destination yesterday for pre-birthday fun with Owen.  We had a very fun afternoon!  There was certainly enough to see and do to keep us all entertained for three + hours.  Dean and I could barely keep up with all of the picture-snapping!

The very first thing Owen noticed was the ball room...

Everyone else scattered in different directions, so picture-taking was difficult.  I did catch Rylan encasing herself in a bubble...


Then Owen discovered the TRAINS!!


So did Colin...





Jordan finally got his question answered about how the bank-shuttle-thingy (???) works...


Rylan was all over the pretend play areas!  First up, the train depot...




Bank Teller...

Look out!!  It's a Chinese Fireball!!

Jordan worked on his carpentry skills...


Eine kline music...



Oh - and then the MAGNETIC table...









Jordan only wishes he could pull this off on Minute to Win it!
 Goin' for a ride in my elec-tric car.. (sing it with me all you They Might be Giants fans!)




Colin learned about recycling...


And math... One, Two, Three, Four, tell me that you love me more...




Much fun was had by all... and three little ones slept all the home, they were so worn out!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

We're...um....'not'

One of the things I love most about our homeschooling support group is the ecclectic mix of people.  There are several different belief systems at play, but we are all unified by one goal: we want to educate our children ourselves.  We are an all-inclusive group, so there are several different religious backgrounds as well.  Over the three + years since we joined, I have made several very good friends.  We don't always just meet with kids in tow - we have a monthly knitting night and a monthly meeting and a monthly MNO.  Knitting night is an especially good night to talk about things other than day-to-day schoolwork or kids.  We have discussed our views on politics (it is especially hilarious to see all of our vehicles lined up in the parking lot and the array of bumper-stickers present), religion and education.  I feel like I am in pretty good company!

The other night, a new mom to the group joined us for knitting night.  She told us a story about her daughter, who has a friend who is a boy.  The two get along quite well and have been friends for several years.  C. said that the boy's family were the ultra-conservative religious types, and "Uh, we're not".  We were busily knitting around the table, and after she said that, smiles spread around the table and we all nodded in unison.
Not much else was said about the subject....'cause we're 'not'.

I love this group  :)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I am not pushy.  Read that.  I am NOT pushy.  I watch and learn from other parents' mistakes - I do not push my children before they are ready for something.  But.  In the last, say three months or so, lots of changes have been going on.

First, in regards to Jordan and Rylan, I 'pushed' them into karate in November.  Jordan has been asking for the last three years if he could begin.  We kept saying 'no', mostly because Jordan was just to obnoxious distracted to handle the mental focus it would require.  He has done a lot of maturing in the meantime.  I got wind of a studio in Loveland that had a daytime homeschool class.  I was in.  Moreover, it would be great for Rylan too!  Well.  She wasn't exactly asking to participate, but I drummed it up for her, got her excited about it, and she loved it from the very start.  Did I push??  No, I think of more as placing the opportunity in front of them and then encouraging them to go for it.  But now, changes are underfoot again.  Rylan is about to turn five and should be advancing to the next age group soon.  I am starting to 'push' for it now... except that there are a couple of really naughty boys in that group.  I wish those moms would just yank them out of there, because they are obviously unable to handle themselves during the class.

Next...  About a year ago I got some math curriculum for Rylan.  Nothing heavy, just a kit from Carson-Dellosa publishing called Thinking Kids' Math Foundations for PK-1.  She and I would do a card or two every few days.  She loved it and asked to 'do math' quite a bit.  Around the same time, I looked at Jordan's math program, MEP, to see what and when Rylan should start.  They were in the process of adding a Reception Year (British equivalent to Kindergarten), so all of the lessons were not available yet.  And she wasn't ready for any kind of formal lessons anyway.  Well.  I forgot about it.  I was looking around on the MEP site in January, and checked out the entire series of lessons (60) for the reception year.  Oops.  Now it is too easy!  There are several things in there that are worthwhile to look at, but overall, she was actually ready for Year 1.  So we began a couple of weeks ago.  We still look at the reception lessons, complete them in about 10 minutes, then go on to her regular lesson.  I love love love the MEP program.  I just like the way it makes kids think.  It is difficult to explain just how it is different from what else is out there, but I like the way it flows.  I have looked at other programs out there, namely Math Mammoth and Right Start Math.  I like the other programs, but not the price tag.  The best thing about MEP is that it is FREE!  Considering the annual expense of curriculum around here (which is only going to get worse as we go on), free is a good thing.

Rylan has also recently started reading.  A few months ago I attempted to have her try out a book called I Can Read Now!, by David Fernstedt, a local author.  Rylan would have none of it.  "Mom, I CAN'T read!  Don't you know that!!??"  So the other day at the library I picked up the first BOB book (a compilation of the first 4 books) in the off chance she might try this time around.  It worked!  She read the first book with only one prompt.  The look on her face when I told her she had just read her first story was priceless.  THAT is one of the primary reasons we homeschool.  I want to be there when these moments happen.  I also want to be instrumental in the process.  If the opportunity presents itself, Rylan will almost always give something a try. 

Other changes are afoot as well.  Jordan moved on to Boyscouts last week.  His is really taking the new level of commitment quite seriously.  He hangs on every word the Scoutmaster says, which is a good thing.  At his first troop meeting last week, the Scoutmaster said that every scout "Needs to be there". (mentally speaking).  Be present and focused on what you are doing.  "Wow", Jordan says.  "He has really inspired me!".  I should hope so.  I have only been asking him to 'be present' for THE LAST THREE YEARS, but nevermind.  At least he 'gets' it now.  We did have an amazing week of getting school work done this past week.  I think we accomplished more during this past week than Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, and most of Feb combined.  I'm not kidding.  It has been rough around here.

The changes that I am talking about??  They always keep me guessing as to what will happen next.  A nap time/or length of time changes, transition from formula to milk (and how do you transport milk and then warm it when you need it when you are going to be gone from the house for several hours??), transition from baby food to regular food (again, transportation issues and menu issues), switching rooms around, new car seats, new gear, new laundry needs (keeping a white gi clean is such a challenge!!) crawling to standing to cruising to walking (Where's Colin!!??)., new abilities in children that need supervision (cooking, cleaning, laundry)..  They seem to dominate my day!!  Our newest change is the change from 2 cars down to one.  It was certainly not by choice, and we have to learn to live with this for at least a few months.  It is amazing how dependent on having 2 vehicles we have become.  The next big transition on the horizon is potty training Owen.  I am not looking forward to it in the least.  I am dreading it, actually.  Predictability will again vanish for quite some time.  Sigh.

Hey buddy... can you spare some change??  I don't seem to have enough!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Do we eat eyeballs?

Last night Rylan, Owen and I went grocery shopping. While in the meat dept., Rylan noticed the butcher come out with a cart of packaged meats to restock the display cases.

Rylan - So that's where meat comes from.

Me - Not exactly.

We continue onto the produce department and pick out the fruits and vegetables we need. Rylan counts out six apples. She fetches two cartons of sliced mushrooms. Rylan and Owen anxiously wait by the broccoli for the 'storm' to hit. (When they play the sound of rumbling thunder and little misters spray the vegetables). They both select a fruit roll-up for being good shoppers. We stand in line, and our cashier is a friend of mine - a mother of three, so we chat about what our babies are doing lately. Rylan takes a penny and rides the horse. Owen does not because he does not like the horse. He sits in the cart instead and tries to take his shoes off. We leave and load the groceries in the car and proceed to drive home. Yet all this time, the wheels in Rylan's mind have been turning. I am not even out of the parking lot when Rylan asks me this....

Rylan - Mom, when we eat animals, do we eat their eyeballs?

Me - (What???) No. We do not eat their eyeballs.

What do we do with the eyeballs?

We don't get our meat with the eyeballs - they have been removed and are in the trash.

What happens to the eyeballs in the trash?

They decompose.

What does decompose mean?

It means the eyeball slowly disintegrates into nothing, with the help of little tiny insects called maggots. It could also happen that another animal might find and eat the eyeballs.

What kinds of animals?

Oh, like foxes, coyotes, or maybe even raccoons. (Do raccoons eat just anything?? I have no idea..)

Why do they like eyeballs?

They will sometimes eat several different parts of the animal.

I don't want a fox to eat my eyeballs. That's why I stay right beside you, where it is safe.

Safe indeed... from little girl eyeball-eating foxes. I think I had better set the record straight for her that foxes are pretty nice animals and that they generally leave humans alone. They are fun to watch...from a distance.