Today's Joys

Today we slept in a bit.

For "school," we read Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds, read a Bible story, looked through The Usborne Introduction to Art and N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims, and drew. We spent a little time outside in the wet; it rained all day yesterday.

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0811814866

I studied Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning, by Oliver and Rachel DeMille, and a couple of Miquon math books my new homeschooling friend loaned me.

We will be writing a birthday card and wrapping birthday presents later, before we go to a friend's seventh birthday party.

I get to go running midday because our neighbor is watching the boys during that time!

Impressed

I am so impressed with Nick's "school" progress lately. Everything I do with him is pretty flexible. I start with a plan and assume that it might not work out and might be too old for him. If he resists too much, I stop.

However, he doesn't resist as much as Xander did at young ages. He asks for "the A book" every day, which is a really repetitive book where we learn rhymes about the sounds letters make, slowly and painstakingly. He has always shown a more obvious appreciation for music and rhythm, so maybe the vowel poem in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is right up his alley.

I knew he knew a lot of the sounds the letters make, but with this teaching guide, I can figure out methodically what he knows and doesn't know. He's got the vowel sounds down now, though there is some confusion sometimes between the 'o' and 'u' sounds and the 'a' and 'e' sounds. Xander had that, too, I think.

By request, he's been listening to math songs that I intended for Xander. We'll see how much he learns of math by the end of the year just by eavesdropping and using Xander's materials.

We've been doing Slow and Steady Get Me Ready activities for a while. They're very fun for him. For instance, today I got out 10 clothespins and helped him count them. We stood behind a line and tried throwing clothespins into a bucket, one by one. We counted how many were out of the bucket and how many were in the bucket when we were done. I asked him which number was larger and more. He got that correct.

He's also been liking his Kumon tracing book, which is perfect practice for writing. Xander never liked those kinds of books except for the Kumon cutting book.

Last but definitely not least, Nick is excitedly learning how to put on and take off shirts and shoes. (Those are harder than shorts and underwear.)

I've mentioned before how he likes all aspects of music and art. He can point out the Mona Lisa to you in a book of paintings and loves to draw and paint himself. Right now he likes to "play piano" on our keyboard, using his beloved Myths and Legends book as a "piano book." I've ordered a series of preschool piano books that both boys will love to learn from (I hope). They start with animal characters that stand for each of the fingers (Pointer Panda, Ringo Raccoon, etc.).  The activities are colorful and fun. Later, if they continue their piano learning, I plan to order a series of piano books for more experienced players that are based around original comics.

Simple Service

I really want to teach my kids to think of others and not just themselves. Erik and I both want this. So he thought it was a good idea when I suggested picking up trash on a nearby trail this Sunday.

I've looked on and off for service projects young kids can do and have had limited success. We've done a few things here and there, but nothing on an ongoing basis. This post about teaching kids to serve in simple ways really impacted me.

It should be mentioned that Xander is really generous. He shares well and buys gifts for friends and cousins with his own money. But how easy is it to get into a habit of thinking about your own wellbeing and your own toys and the things you want day after day? Easy. Very easy.

He was actually resistant to getting out of the house (where he was playing with toys) and picking up trash. Once we got there, he was a big help but not without some complaints about the heat. ;) Nick mostly watched.

We drove to a nearby pretty trail with a garbage bag and a few gloves and some waters. It didn't take long to find plenty of trash, even though the trail looks nice overall. Erik and Xander picked up most of the trash we saw. I was carrying a purse and all of our waters and holding Nick's hand. And taking pictures. We walked the trail and played on the playground at the end of it. Then we walked back to our car, drove home and disposed of the trash, and went on with our day.

I've signed up to volunteer where Xander went to his day camp about caring for dogs, but it is going to be a long process to volunteer there. (New Volunteer Orientations that get full quickly, events are not all kid-friendly...) In the meantime, we are going to do acts of simple service as a family.

Another Mother-Son Date

I forgot to get a photo of us again, but this is one Xander took of his stuffed animals after he made his bed.

I did my two mother-son dates in the last few weeks. It's Erik's turn for father-son dates during the next month.

I took Xander to, you (maybe) guessed it, Target. He had some allowance money to spend and decided to buy an Imaginext Batwing vehicle with another version of Batman. He was very excited about that.

Then we hopped over to Half Price Books. I had a great coupon and Xander had earned a small prize for finishing 30 chores, so we got a couple of things there. I found a kids' drawing book kit that Xander agreed would be fun and do-able. Xander chose a cute stuffed donkey. He would have preferred a stuffed bat, but they didn't have any in the store.

In the car, it was Xander's choice of music, of course. He likes pop and pop-rock songs.

One of Those "Hard" Days

Today is one of the days when it has taken until 2:30 p.m. to get through school stuff. I have used almost my full toolbox with Xander today: allowed a nap, gave a treat, kept things light with silly jokes, made an outdoor snack time, skipped some grammar lessons that were too easy, cut a Math lesson into a tiny section that he had to do today, fed him again, listened sympathetically, and made a threat.

But I love what we have done.

He's practiced writing numbers, which he could always use.

He's practiced spelling and proofreading.

He's been outdoors.

He's had Sustained Silent Reading Time.

He and I have had another heart-to-heart talk about feeling free to talk to a trusted adult if he ever feels icky about something. (Along the lines of private parts and privacy.)

We have talked some more about common nouns and proper nouns, specifically common noun places like the kitchen, dining room, store, and zoo and proper noun full names of family members.

We've read aloud two chapters of Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography, looked at maps of the world and the United States, read about The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe in This Country of Ours, read about the Peloponnesian Wars in A Child's History of the World, looked at Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, and listened to songs composed by Johann Sebastian Bach as well as renditions of Ave Maria.

He has made his own thumbprint drawing creation: a knight.

He has perfectly recited the poem "The Caterpillar" and practiced memorizing the poem "Work."

Nick and I have done a lot, too, in spite of his case of screaming-crying earlier when he would have been well served to take a nap.

He has practiced folding paper and identifying shapes. He has traced many differently shaped lines, including curvy and zigzaggy ones. He has drawn drawings (of hot lava and men who are "not crying") and painted two pictures of Johann Sebastian Bach's face with watercolors.

He and I have recited the short-vowel sounds poem from The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.

And he is now learning to play Xander's Leapster with the game Pet Pals.

Good news! We set an end date for watching Imaginext videos on Youtube. Erik and I first enforced specific TV/computer times during the day and then said July 4th would be the last day Imaginext videos would be allowed. So we have not had any more Imaginext videos since then!

Saturday Success Story? Or Did I Not Follow Through on Friday?

Random photo to start the post

Did I get my three Follow Through Friday tasks done?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: to follow.

1. Finish The Homemaking Cottage articles.

Actually, yes, I did do this. Just now. Three of them were posted by yesterday, the due date. Two more were posted this morning, after Erik did me an enormous favor and let me sleep in.

2. Return library books.

Yes. I went to the library by myself! I like doing that. Came back with way too many books for myself, but also some good ones for the kids. We shall see if I can finish my big stack of books before my renewal limit is reached. (I am with you, Jean!)

3. Clean.

I cleaned the guinea pig cage. Hurray! I did not clean anything else. Moreover, I made hot dogs and french fries and strawberry slices for dinner. Pretty lazy, right?

On the other hand, Erik did all the dishes and gave the kids baths and clipped their nails and put them to bed.

What did I do, you ask?

I went running! I'm actually quite proud of myself. It was over 95 degrees but it was evening time. I didn't think it would be a big deal but it kind of was. I brought a little bottle of water with me. It turns out I wasn't that thirsty (though I did really wish for chapstick) but I wanted water poured over my head. That really helped. I talked myself into continuing for 50 minutes. At first, I was all inspirational inside my head. Then it degenerated into, "Just don't let this carload of people see you stopping. Okay, good, now don't let this car see you stop. Now this one. Now this one. Okay, stop and stretch. I won't judge you."

So today, after I get out of my pajamas, I will quick-clean things around the house for an hour or so, meet friends at a splash park, get home and cook a big pan of lasagna, and have friends over for dinner. Follow Through Saturday? Perhaps.

(I think the real hero of this duo of posts is Erik, don't you?)

Follow Through Friday With SoNotOrganized.com

Hi, Jean!

I am going to link up with Jean at SoNotOrganized.com for her Follow Through Friday. Each Friday she's done this, I had projects I needed to get done, but it was like Emergency Go Time and not Post a Blog Post Time those Fridays.

Today, I think I have time to post and work. And laze around. Because it's the 5th of July. We're tired.

One of the "emergency" things that got done was booking a place for our vow renewals! I mentioned this on Facebook but not on this blog: Erik and Jeremy planned for a year to ask me and Leslie if we would renew vows with them! Because we had a double wedding ceremony back nine years ago, we are also going to have a double vow renewal. Too cute for words, right? Or is it Too Awesome for words??!! To get back on track, we are doing this on a pontoon boat during the week they are visiting us before they move far away. *tear* It will be us couples and our four darling kids.

So now, to follow through on some things...

1. I need to write and upload four more articles for The Homemaking Cottage today.

2. Just like Jean, I need to go to the library or renew all our books and DVDs.

3. Some cleaning should really get done. We are having neighbors over for dinner tomorrow night after a busy day. "Some cleaning" is too vague, right? Hmmm. I will clean the guinea pig's cage and vacuum all the floors. If I find the energy, I will also clean the master bathroom. Cleaning the hall bathroom will have to wait until tomorrow. As it should. We have two little boys here.

This was after I cleaned it many months ago - yes, I have cleaned it again since then... I'm sure.