Yesterday Isaak decided the warm weather warrented a try at his bicycle without training wheels. We had attempted this last fall without much success, but I was anxious for him to learn. Having only one little one, Grace, in my bike trailer makes for a much easier ride for me.
Anyway, he can do it. With a little practice he is biking without his training wheels and has even taught himself how to get started on his own. Way to go Isaak! He has spent most of today talking about biking more and when he is not talking about it he has been doing it up and down our driveway endlessly.
I hope the wind calms down a little after supper so we can all head out for a family bike ride, before the weather turns sour again tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Do you know the history of St. Patrick's Day? I didn't until a few days ago when I looked on the internet to figure out what I would do with the kids to celebrate. According to the information I found, St. Patrick went to Ireland and used a clover to teach about the three persons of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Cool!
So we celebrated our holiday with a little history lesson and discussion about how many leaves are on a typical clover. Because of story books the kids first answered 4 leaves. Then we enjoyed some green scrambled eggs and green milk for breakfast. For supper we had green milk, green mashed potatoes and peas. We also had green rice krispie treats, green Jell-O and pistachio pudding during the day. Finally we made a list of all the things we could think of that are green, I think we got 23 items.
Hope you had a great day celebrating!
So we celebrated our holiday with a little history lesson and discussion about how many leaves are on a typical clover. Because of story books the kids first answered 4 leaves. Then we enjoyed some green scrambled eggs and green milk for breakfast. For supper we had green milk, green mashed potatoes and peas. We also had green rice krispie treats, green Jell-O and pistachio pudding during the day. Finally we made a list of all the things we could think of that are green, I think we got 23 items.
Hope you had a great day celebrating!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Plates, plates and more plates!!!
In the midst of cleaning house and starting some packing, I was in charge of the craft for Moms Inc this week. We were making plates using clear glass plates, paper, and mod podge. They turned out wonderful and the ladies had a load of fun making them.
Needless to say I had to bring them home to finish drying completely and spray with a finally coat of sealer to make them more waterproof. So there are 30 plates turned upside down on cups all around our kitchen. Lots of plates-it is humorous to look around and see plates everywhere.
So for lunch today we had a carpet picnic. Lots of fun, if you ever need to spark up your day, try it with your kids. A simple sandwich and piece of fruit sitting on a blanket on the floor can be so exciting to a child. Although I do long for the summer days to come where we can do this outside again, it is one of our favorite things to visit a park and have a picnic.
If you would like to make your own plate or are looking for a fun project idea google mod podge. Their website has tons of ideas and instructions. I hope to do more with this stuff in the future.
Needless to say I had to bring them home to finish drying completely and spray with a finally coat of sealer to make them more waterproof. So there are 30 plates turned upside down on cups all around our kitchen. Lots of plates-it is humorous to look around and see plates everywhere.
So for lunch today we had a carpet picnic. Lots of fun, if you ever need to spark up your day, try it with your kids. A simple sandwich and piece of fruit sitting on a blanket on the floor can be so exciting to a child. Although I do long for the summer days to come where we can do this outside again, it is one of our favorite things to visit a park and have a picnic.
If you would like to make your own plate or are looking for a fun project idea google mod podge. Their website has tons of ideas and instructions. I hope to do more with this stuff in the future.
Sliding fun
When Isaak was 2 years old we bought this Step 2 slide. He was such an energetic little guy, we had hopes of it burning off energy. Now Grace too needs that release as well, especially on these long winter days in the house. Sometimes I am frustrated with finding places in the house for it because it is a little large, but most days they play so nice with it. Tonight they were making people trains, how cute!!
Plus they have been such great kids lately and playing very well together. Jim and I are busy finishing projects around the house. We have appointments with realtors next week, so the deadline is on to finish up. It has been such a blessing to have the kids cooperate so well.
Tonight after supper we played dodge ball together as a family, at least our version of it. We have bags of those soft plastic balls, so Jim and I aim them at the kids while they run madly around the living room. So fun! It was an idea born from a family fun night a few weeks ago. The idea was to do activities together and learn that two is better than one and included verses from Eccelesiaties. So we had 3 legged races (which they didn't like) and puzzle races and dodge ball (the cooperation there being picking up the balls together). Well they loved dodge ball. But the next day Samuel and I were doing laundry together and he said it was just like we said at family fun night, two is better than one. Yes! He got it!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Movies, movies, movies . . .
Wow, we went to our second movie at a theater in one week. I don't think this has happened since our dating days. Last Saturday Jim and I went to New in Town, kind of a spur of the moment decision when we didn't know what else to do for our date night. So we went to the theater not even knowing what was showing. It turned out to be a great movie that we both liked, good humor and romance and no inappropriate scenes.
While we were there last week we saw they were doing a special showing of Hotel for Dogs today for $2.50 that included a small popcorn. So we decided to take the kids. It was a great movie and the kids had a blast.
While we were there last week we saw they were doing a special showing of Hotel for Dogs today for $2.50 that included a small popcorn. So we decided to take the kids. It was a great movie and the kids had a blast.
Friday, March 6, 2009
They will learn . . .
There are those moments as a parent when I wonder "will they ever learn to (insert a life skill)" and start to panic that I am not fulfilling my role to teach them. But recently I have been reminded to slow down and not worry.
I have been reading a few homeschool books that focus on unit study and some kid direction to the curriculm. This is not completely what I plan to do with the kids, but has been mostly what we have been doing this past year. For example the kids are interested in flying so we made paper airplanes and discussed vocabulary words associated with planes. Jim also explained to Samuel how a plane flys. Right now Samuel has been very excited about the moon, sun and planets. So we have spent many hours reading books on these topics and studying the night sky. Have we learned something? Most certainly! Does it follow what other kindergarteners are learning? Probably not. The point of some kid direction is that almost any topic can include your tradtional school subjects (math, reading and science) and be more fun to learn if you are interested in it.
I was reading a book on what your child should learn in each grade level. I was pleasantly surprised that much of what was on the list for a kindergartner Samuel has had exposure to. One thing he hadn't learned was telling time. Was I worried? A little, but life goes on. A few weeks later Samuel asks me about the clock on the stove. I tell him a little. The next day he asks me about my alarm clock, I tell him some more. Little by little he has learned a lot about telling time. Last night he walked into the living room to announce it was half past seven. Awesome!!
This is just one example of what a little time will do. A month ago Grace didn't care about puzzles. But last week when we cleaned out the game closet, she sat down and was doing all sorts of puzzles and asking for more. During the 5 day hunger challenge, Isaak learned a lot about the numbers 1-5. Everyday he would announce how many days were left. Two months ago Samuel and I made a number chart of 1-100. He was so excited and we hung it in the living room where everyone can see it. Now in the last few weeks he goes to it and counts to 100. And the practice is showing, he can identify most numbers now and even corrects his brother.
God has entrusted us with little wonders. Let us enjoy them and teach them, but not get stressed about the little things.
I have been reading a few homeschool books that focus on unit study and some kid direction to the curriculm. This is not completely what I plan to do with the kids, but has been mostly what we have been doing this past year. For example the kids are interested in flying so we made paper airplanes and discussed vocabulary words associated with planes. Jim also explained to Samuel how a plane flys. Right now Samuel has been very excited about the moon, sun and planets. So we have spent many hours reading books on these topics and studying the night sky. Have we learned something? Most certainly! Does it follow what other kindergarteners are learning? Probably not. The point of some kid direction is that almost any topic can include your tradtional school subjects (math, reading and science) and be more fun to learn if you are interested in it.
I was reading a book on what your child should learn in each grade level. I was pleasantly surprised that much of what was on the list for a kindergartner Samuel has had exposure to. One thing he hadn't learned was telling time. Was I worried? A little, but life goes on. A few weeks later Samuel asks me about the clock on the stove. I tell him a little. The next day he asks me about my alarm clock, I tell him some more. Little by little he has learned a lot about telling time. Last night he walked into the living room to announce it was half past seven. Awesome!!
This is just one example of what a little time will do. A month ago Grace didn't care about puzzles. But last week when we cleaned out the game closet, she sat down and was doing all sorts of puzzles and asking for more. During the 5 day hunger challenge, Isaak learned a lot about the numbers 1-5. Everyday he would announce how many days were left. Two months ago Samuel and I made a number chart of 1-100. He was so excited and we hung it in the living room where everyone can see it. Now in the last few weeks he goes to it and counts to 100. And the practice is showing, he can identify most numbers now and even corrects his brother.
God has entrusted us with little wonders. Let us enjoy them and teach them, but not get stressed about the little things.
A day in the life of Grace (or What are you doing?!?)
For those of you without multiple small children what you are going to read may be disturbing. For everyone else, be prepared for a good laugh.
I sometimes wonder what must be going through Grace's head. She is a very bright little girl, so I am baffled by her behavior some days. On the way home from Appleton on Wednesday I looked back in the van after I heard Grace smacking her lips. She was wiping her hand on the bottom of her shoe and then licking her fingers! Aarrgghh! Later that same day we found her giving her husky stuffed dog a drink of water from her glass. She was made that there was a puddle on the floor. :-)
Yesterday as the boys were working on a project involving paint, Grace was using watercolor paints for the first time. She proceeded to dip her fingers in the paint and then get mad that she had dirty hands. Then she alternated between dipping the paper towel in water and paint. What a mess, she even had paint in her ear! Thankfully it is washable paint and it can't possible hurt her anymore than whatever she ingested from the bottom of her shoe the previous day.
While the boys finished painting she took off to play and we heard her yell, "Doggie, did you make?" (Which is her version of Did you go potty?) I feared she may have put the stuffed doggie on the potty chair or possibly in the real toilet. What a relief when I found him sitting on the carpet reading books. But I still dread the day when this may happen, she doesn't let her two dogs out of her sight for 15 minutes, so washing them is a tremendous effort on my part.
With all that said, she is still so cute and sweet. I will often find her sitting with her doggies reading them multiple books or putting them to bed. She loves to dance and play with her brothers.
We love you Grace and all the smiles you bring to our house!
I sometimes wonder what must be going through Grace's head. She is a very bright little girl, so I am baffled by her behavior some days. On the way home from Appleton on Wednesday I looked back in the van after I heard Grace smacking her lips. She was wiping her hand on the bottom of her shoe and then licking her fingers! Aarrgghh! Later that same day we found her giving her husky stuffed dog a drink of water from her glass. She was made that there was a puddle on the floor. :-)
Yesterday as the boys were working on a project involving paint, Grace was using watercolor paints for the first time. She proceeded to dip her fingers in the paint and then get mad that she had dirty hands. Then she alternated between dipping the paper towel in water and paint. What a mess, she even had paint in her ear! Thankfully it is washable paint and it can't possible hurt her anymore than whatever she ingested from the bottom of her shoe the previous day.
While the boys finished painting she took off to play and we heard her yell, "Doggie, did you make?" (Which is her version of Did you go potty?) I feared she may have put the stuffed doggie on the potty chair or possibly in the real toilet. What a relief when I found him sitting on the carpet reading books. But I still dread the day when this may happen, she doesn't let her two dogs out of her sight for 15 minutes, so washing them is a tremendous effort on my part.
With all that said, she is still so cute and sweet. I will often find her sitting with her doggies reading them multiple books or putting them to bed. She loves to dance and play with her brothers.
We love you Grace and all the smiles you bring to our house!
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