Homeschool Rollerskating January 22, 2009

We have been interested in attending this event for some time now but I remained apprehensive at the prospect of all 3 of us (the 2 children and myself) on wheels together.  It finally dawned that I could opt out of the wheels and bring an extra set of hands (Mema)- off to homeschool rollerskating! The kids were very excited. Let’s face it, Sadie’s excited about everything. Elijah is a harder sell. The boy knows what he likes and is wary of most everything else. He has, however, been looking forward to this with the stipulation that his wheels must oppose each other (aka- not the inline kind). Done!

Even with 2 adults, getting started was tricky. Sadie looked like a fawn on ice with her legs flailing everywhere. Elijah was a little more controlled because, as it turns out, he nabbed the skates on which the wheels could be tightened. Sadie wasn’t so lucky- maybe next time.

The roller rink was mobbed with homeschoolers and had great lighting and a rockin’ soundtrack. At one point they played Journey and I daydreamed of holding hands with Chris as we skated swiftly around the rink (leg warmers optional). 

We had a fantastic time and are looking forward to next month! Elijah fell 12 times (he counted and was excited like each one was a badge on his way to earning Good Skater credits) and laughed every time. He loved to watch the big kids fall and get right back up and remarked on it multiple times. Sadie looked like a dishrag by the time we left. Her smile was almost (almost) worn out from the amount of falling and frustration she had endured. She is looking forward to being good at this, she says.

The Veggie Garden Chronicles January 22, 2009

The garden is bigger and we’re learning from last year’s mistakes. I’ve got a great book that I’m using for reference called Neil Sperry’s Complete Guide to Texas Gardening and, according to my calculations, it’s time to seed some… stuff (yeah, we’re new at this).

Sadie helps me to winter seed. We’re using Pei Wei take-out containers which proved to be the best greenhouses for the seeds last year. All we have to do is cut some drainage holes in the bottom.

Here they are. As an afterthought, it appears that the containers still smell faintly of Chinese take-out. The dogs were found in the sideyard chewing on two of them. As a repellant we applied cayenne pepper to the tops of each container which has definitely done the trick.

We knew (again- see last year’s comedy of errors) that soon the Sharpie demarcating which veggie is which would fade. Must…make…signs.

Sadie helps to wood burn the little signs for each vegetable.

We got the little ovals for $0.69 each at Michael’s and then hit Home Depot for some paint stirrers for stakes! Now… we wait. 

Motor-Minded January 22, 2009

Elijah continues to be heavily involved in motored machines and motor skills. His interest in Star Wars Lego and MarioKart for Wii has not waned nor has his obsession with vehicles. He has dug out all the parts to this remote control Jeep that we have had but not used (this due preliminarily to Elijah being too inexperienced not to break it and subsequently (when he was able) not being able to find the battery charger). It has been determined that it cannot be used in the vicinity of his other remote control car as they use the same frequency and both remotes then control the Jeep making it very frustrating. 

Here he dusts the Jeep with a wet cloth. It has, indeed, been gathering dust.

His love for building also continues. On a recent trip to Michael’s, his eyes glazed over with excitement in the aisle with the model cars, etc. He found a Jedi Starfighter that thrilled him, took it to the scanner to double check the price, and used my 40% off coupon to get it for a deal. Here we are building it together. It was quite complicated. Elijah read the drawn schematics and would assist me with the placement and snapping in of the parts- right down to the shifters in the cockpit.

It came out great! He’s going to hang it from the ceiling in his new and improved bedroom (post to follow).

Keeping Company January 22, 2009

The kids spend their evenings playing quietly upstairs and, at some point, retire to the air mattress and fall asleep. Before we go to bed, we get them situated into their preferred sleeping arrangement. This is what we found on one night (apparently the lighting wasn’t so good for this picture but it’s too cute not to post). Yes, this is Elijah asleep on top of sleeping Sadie. They both appeared comfortable but we were left to wonder what caused this situation.

Elijah informed us very matter-of-factly (upon seeing the picture the next day) that it is only after trying to awaken Sadie (yes, sometimes by getting on top of her) that he comes to get me to cuddle him as he falls asleep. Apparently he was so tired this night that he didn’t get to the part where he summons me. Hmm. Elijah is encouraged to request my cuddles in lieu of laying on Sadie.

Happy Birthday, Gretchen! January 22, 2009

Our friend Gretchen turned 3! Apparently the exuberant singing was a little much for her. I had to leave the room for giggling…

Onlookers sang and admired the cake/candles.

Here Sadie makes a valiant effort to retrieve a hanging donut using only her mouth…

… to no avail. Whatever- it tastes the same.

Ethan and Elijah played at length with these fun stacking pyramid blocks.

Despite the cold weather, there was lots of outdoor fun to be had. Brett and Sadie swing.

A good portion of party time revolved around this ball. Here Elijah uses said ball to hide from the camera. It was a wonderfully fun party! Happy birthday, Gretchen!

Family Snack January 22, 2009

The kids had a burning desire to make a big gingerbread boy after reading yet another of Jan Brett’s wonderful stories. Turns out we had a whole lot o’ dough so they fashioned our family. From left: Chris (w/ spiky hair), Sadie (w/ skirt), Elijah (holding Wii steering wheel), myself (w/ pigtails), and Mema (w/ curly hair). I guess we now know what our distinguishing features are…

Gone to the Birds January 8, 2009

On a beautiful January morning, Sadie looked out the window and commented on the sunshine. Both children thought today would be a good day to visit Chisholm Park- a fabulous community park/playground in Hurst. After completing some mundane morning tasks at home, we did!

There was lots of playground fun. I had reminded Sadie at breakfast that we were not having a park day today so none of our friends were going to be at the park. Then she reminded me that they always make new friends at the park so, “what matters?” And they did.

They fed the ducks.

They are many and gorgeous- each pair with its own distinct colors and markings.

The pigeons are just as pretty and put on quite an orchestrated, low-flying show for us between asking for bread scraps.

Bird watching.

We had never seen this type of bird before. They are quite large with dark bodies and orange, blunted beaks. We looked them up when we got home in the bird book and found that they are double crested cormorants.

We hit the playground one more time before hitting the road. There was some dare devil action.

We stopped at Lowe’s on the way home to pick up soil and compost for the vegetable garden. 

We parked right near this- a man operating a lift to change a blown bulb in one of the parking lot lamps. Neat!

The children helped to fill the veggie bed with the soil and compost. Sadie mixed them up by dancing and twirling in the garden bed. Elijah preferred the trowel method.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing, ETC. January 8, 2009

We went on a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Fort Worth. It is one of two locations (the other is Washington, D.C.) in the United States that print paper currency. As you might imagine, security is tight. We were not allowed to bring anything into the building so there are no more pictures. The 1/4 mile tour above the printing process was fascinating. We followed the process start to finish beginning with the paper (which is actually 75% cotton and 25% linen- money really doesn’t grow on trees!) which arrives by armored car from Crane & Co. of Dalton, MA- right in my home county! We watched the layers of ink be printed, the sheets scrutinized for imperfections, cut, sorted, and bundled. Though the tour was a little long, the kids raved about the awesomeness of it all.

The day is still young. Let’s go bounce!

We hadn’t been to the local bouncing establishment since last winter and figured it would be a great way to blow off some pent-up Bureau of Engraving energy on a chilly day.

(from left): Elijah, Sadie, Ehlayna, Kaylee, Christa, and Kenzie

Elijah points out that there are several things that are not allowed on the bounce equipment. No drinking, no shoes, no smoking and no…. hamburgers.

When we got home Sadie felt compelled to bake. We made gingerbread cookie dough, chocolate chip cookies, and homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

Elijah played MarioKart with Daddy. He’s reading many of the menus on the screens but denies that he reads because he “recognizes and remembers the words.” I continue to explain to him that that’s what experienced readers do! His favorite part is uncovering new parts of his games. Much of this (in Lego Star Wars) is done through level mastery and ’spending’ the studs earned in the boards. He can read numbers to 6 digits now and knows when he has earned enough to ‘buy’ various characters for use in the game. This is a primary example that it’s not always about finding learning opportunities for them. It’s about being aware of the learning that they find in the activities that they choose. 

How We Roll… January 8, 2009

This is a taste of some of what we’ve been up to the last few days. Elijah got Snap Circuits Jr. for Christmas. It’s a set that has instructions and descriptions of 101 circuits to build/play with. So far we’ve built an electronic motor, flying saucer, and a sound activated music box. We happened to have The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip which was a great supplement to figuring out the basics of electricity.

Elijah plays with the flying saucer circuit.

Santa brought Blokus 3D. It’s like hands-on Tetris! My grasp of spatial relationships has quickly been surpassed by both of my children. I’d like to say I’m letting them win….

Santa also brought this super-cool fort building set. What could be more fun than planning and constructing one’s own fort and then playing in it?!  It consists of balls and connecting rods. The balls are such that just about any angle can be created. Then add sheets from the linen closet and you’ve got a structure!

Before this we had a two-room fort- a bedroom and reading room as planned by the kids. This one was built mostly for height with a tunnel leading to the entrance.

Sadie has been sculpting with clay. She was delighted to find that she could paint her sculptures once they dried.

House Hunters January 8, 2009

We spent part of the weekend looking for a Texas home for Mema! My mother has come to TX from MA and we are helping her to get settled. From job hunting to house hunting to all that pesky business of becoming a legalized Texan, we’re teaming up to get it done… happily! And, yes, we’re wearing shorts in January. That could be part of the reason we’re so happy!