tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70536927909394824692024-02-18T18:37:51.406-07:00Two Roads, One TravelerLilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-4469950188980818222012-05-31T16:20:00.001-06:002012-05-31T17:44:19.818-06:00Week 4 of First Grade<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, back on track! Phew!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, we're back in Mesopotamia, now learning about the first Sumerian dictator, Sargon, and how he united all the ancient Sumerian city-states into the first recorded military dictatorship,The Akkadian Empire. Yeah, I didn't know any of that before I read it this week, either. ( I should probably have failed first grade, but I think my teacher passed me just because I never shut up and she was tired of the sound of my voice.) For our history project this week, we made cylinder seals like the Sumerians used to sign their personal documents and business agreements. I didn't know they had toilet paper back then, but the cardboard rolls probably made it pretty easy to make their seal. I'm sure every 5 and 6 year old child had one.</span><br />
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<i> First Ancient effective communication tool.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course the Sumerians didn't have Crayola Washable Poster Paint or, probably, wax paper. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Or bright pink casts for broken arms.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the end result of our projects were pretty fun to see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I only got pictures of G-girl's before my camera battery died, but just picture this with race cars, stop signs and, for some reason, crosses, all done in beautiful blue paint and you'll have a good idea of what J-man's looked like.. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you who need things a little more spelled out- we put foam stickers on empty toilet paper rolls, rolled them in paint spread onto wax paper, and then rolled that onto cardstock. They're supposed to emulate the cylindrical seals made to "sign" the paperwork the Sumerians used. But it was windy, so it more emulated, "Holy cow, catch it before it flies into the house and Dad yells at us for getting purple butterflies on the sliding glass door!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think our favorite subject this week, by far, was science. I still haven't nailed down how I want our Animal Classification chart to look, but I will probably have something put together by the time the kids graduate high school. Anywhoodle, we've moved on to the Phylum Arthopoda, Class Insecta. Yep, insects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After we got the bothersome reading and narration work out of the way (although I cannot recommend DK's First Animal Encyclopedia enough!) we got to start our nature journal-ing. We've done a nature journal project before, but it was something I structured pretty carefully and the kids were just sort of along for the ride. They just filled in the blanks of my templates. Now we're moving to where they are looking for things, sitting down and sketching them, and labeling them. So we took a walk through our favorite place, Bear Creek Lake Park, along Bear Creek, and found lots of insects to draw. I tried to take pictures of the specimens as we went, to put as a supplement in their journal, so they can see how their drawings match up. When we got home, we looked up on the Internet (aka Dad's brain) and tried to find the names of some of the insects we drew.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This one is Bob Boxelder Bug.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This one claims to be Patrice, but I remember her as being much bigger than this. I think the South Beach plan must be working. Good job, Patrice, if this is really you! (Patrice is a grasshopper.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took another walk Thursday morning, because we like hanging out with our friends. There was a competition to see who could collect the most roly polies, even though those were annelids, which we studied last week. I somehow managed to get them all left there at the park, none enjoyed a ride home in our car.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the afternoon, we came home and made our own insects out of pipe cleaners. First the kids picked an insect from our Wildlife Explorer books and then tried to make them by twisting colorful fuzzy sticks into shape. I made an ant, G made a honeybee and J made a dragonfly.</span><br />
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After that, each of us created our own unique imaginary insects. The only rules were they have to have the three main body parts of an insect- the head, the thorax and the abdomen- and six legs- other than that, it was a free for all. <br />
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But we forgot how devious insects can be, and while we were distracted, our insects got together and plotted some deviousness.<br />
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<i>The honeybee is clearly the look-out here, while the dragonfly is his usual bossy self. </i></div>
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What we discovered was a true testament to the cooperativeness and team-work seen in the insect world.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>The honey bee gathering some nectar. Pretty harmless.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The dragonfly trying to prune our tree. WHILE THE ANT TRIES TO GET INTO THE HOUSE. DEVIOUSNESS!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After we called the exterminator, the rest of the week was spent continuing through math, spelling, reading, phonics and grammar as usual. Our new read-aloud literature book is Wind in the Willows. So far it's getting a "meh" rating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week our history will take us to a study of the ancient Jewish people and our science will keep us in Arthropoda, Insecta with the study of butterflies and moths. I hope our butterfly kit shows up by then!</span>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-85433460144321709632012-05-31T02:24:00.001-06:002012-05-31T02:55:37.546-06:00Daily School Schedule- First Grade- Summer 2012Lately a lot of people have been asking me what our daily schedule is like. It might be because they want to know why I'm on Facebook at 1:08pm but I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they're really just wondering how we break up our day and get all of our curricula topics to align.<br />
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Here it is.
This is also my first time trying to embed an Excel spreadsheet onto this blog. I'm such a newbie. <br />
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I guess I should point out the individual reading instruction and personal reading time are not on here because we don't do those at regular times. I teach each child individually a new reading concept for 15-30 minutes each day, and each of them has to read to me for 30 minutes a day. This usually happens during lunch or in the afternoon. And, of course, we all read together at least 30 minutes a night before bed time.<br />
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Edit: I guess people want to know which curricula we are using. Although I have that in another post, I'll add it briefly here:<br />
Phonics- Explode the Code<br />
Spelling- All About Spelling<br />
Writing- Writing With Ease<br />
Grammar- First Language Lessons<br />
Math- Singapore Math<br />
History- Story of the World and Tapestry of Grace<br />
Science- Easy Classical Science<br />
Reading- Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading<br />
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Most of these are classically based, and created by the authors of The Well-Trained Mind.LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-43710239736121422722012-05-30T12:49:00.001-06:002012-05-30T23:02:19.035-06:00Wordless Wednesday 1- May 30, 2012<br />
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<br />LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-88391268854359022152012-05-26T22:41:00.000-06:002012-05-30T23:04:44.748-06:00Week 3.5 of First Grade<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have just one picture that sums up what was supposed to be our fourth week of first grade:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9mu7YTSyjocbuzTFM3FVFPNxYlchfiG020d0kB19ytJwYpiohiI5oq741pA-WcI6UpEiPQg4Q0BufEOKL8do0errQv-bh6a8Pw-VKmTlmdUmGuuQLT3xNmi_Cs_OyGD1md5WzjF5urdN/s1600/Gab's+X-Rays-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9mu7YTSyjocbuzTFM3FVFPNxYlchfiG020d0kB19ytJwYpiohiI5oq741pA-WcI6UpEiPQg4Q0BufEOKL8do0errQv-bh6a8Pw-VKmTlmdUmGuuQLT3xNmi_Cs_OyGD1md5WzjF5urdN/s320/Gab's+X-Rays-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>No, my arm is not that dainty. Or that broken.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My wonderful Gabrielle decided that she wanted to go to Urgent Care this week. After all, it's been almost two years since we last went, as we seem to have the majority of our anaphylactic, Armageddon-inducing food allergy issues under control. So as I walked out of the living room to get read to take a shower, she climbed up the banisters on the second floor and decided to walk down the hand rail. I came around the corner just as she fell. Ironically, she screamed less from her broken bones than she does when I comb her hair. Anyhow, we went to Urgent Care, where I felt incredibly paranoid about bringing in a child with broken bones. I let her answer all of the "how did it happen" questions, and was relieved she didn't announce to everyone that I was napping, like her brother is wont to do. (Take a nap once and the kid never lets you live it down. Take a nap often, like I want to, and, well, I guess maybe I earned my reputation.) Once she was settled playing, and the doc was filling out our release/parole papers, I asked him when the adrenaline would subside. And I immediately burst into tears. Guess we know where she gets it. To put the cherry on top- she didn't want to leave Urgent Care, as she was having too much fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trip to the pediatric ortho the next day to set and cast the bones was a roller coaster. She went from the happiest, singingest, flirting-with-the-X-Ray-techiest girl to, well, a psycho, in about three seconds flat. It was like she has a Scream Switch that got set to Ear-Splitting Hysterics (Spinal Tap's Eleven) and then the switch was broken off and stuck there. Poor thing is terrified of shots, so once that word was uttered, it was all over but the crying. Literally.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I mention we also had the stomach flu?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0XM3pKKk-xMJP2dqfSybDjBhVnaS5eAS4Zi65F6_ZGJW-25JPULpLNYVtaMQqt32N4fK33RJJNXMmRw42X2YhJ-z9dDHF-wrweVrKWIB1VNP9lZze8A_bwqUGjUPlqmQgs9xwHIk2gbW/s1600/pancakebunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0XM3pKKk-xMJP2dqfSybDjBhVnaS5eAS4Zi65F6_ZGJW-25JPULpLNYVtaMQqt32N4fK33RJJNXMmRw42X2YhJ-z9dDHF-wrweVrKWIB1VNP9lZze8A_bwqUGjUPlqmQgs9xwHIk2gbW/s320/pancakebunny.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>I will not post a picture of that because, well, that's gross. Here's the old, tried-and-true pancake bunny, my go-to filler picture.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say, we decided to take it easy school-wise this week. We kept up with basic phonics and math for a few days, then sat around staring at each other through our PTSD fog. Then Rob came home Friday and all is back to being right with the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll pick up in Science and History where we left off, making next week our new Week 4 of First Grade. If I can get out of bed come Monday morning...</span><br />
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<br />LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-56924560267188003072012-05-21T22:51:00.000-06:002012-05-30T23:05:47.253-06:00Week 3- SOTW and TOG Reading List<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>READING LOG</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First Grade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">TOG-1, SOTW-1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We're using both Tapestry of Grace and Story of the World this year, so I thought I'd keep a log of the books we read, as well as the sections/weeks we've coordinated between the two spines. Both kids are in first grade. I have an Excel spreadsheet in progress but I'll wait to post that until we're further along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*I liked the way that SOTW laid out the first few weeks in chronological order, so I used that as my main "map." I pulled literature recommendations from TOG in the weeks that I felt corresponded to the topic SOTW covered. There are lots of over-laps in the first few weeks. We frequently read a few of these books out of order, and/or repeated them if we enjoyed them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">** We combined weeks 1 and 2 of SOTW, as we had covered them before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Week 3: (May 14 - May 20, 2012)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: purple;">Coordinated Weeks: SOTW week 4, TOG weeks 2-3</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">SOTW chapter 3</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, “Ancient Egypt” pages 10-11</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, “Early
Egypt” and “The Old Kingdom”, pages 51-54</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Illustrated Book of Myths, by Neil Philip</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You Wouldn’t Want to Be a
Pyramid Builder, by Jacqueline Morley</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tutankhamen’s Gift, by Robert Sabuda</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mummies and Pyramids, Magic Tree House, by Will Osborne and Mary
Pope Osborne</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Curse of Kin Tut’s Mummy, by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mummies & Pyramids, Usborne Internet Linked, by Sam Taplin</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Why, Why, Why Were the Pyramids Built? By Mason Crest Publishers</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bible Stories: pre-view Patriarchs, Life in Egypt- The Children’s
Illustrated Bible, pages 28-31, 66-67 (discuss that these topics are out of order per our
history timeline)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Books in</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Red</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> are books I consider </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Historical Texts</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, and the books in </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Blue</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I consider</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Literature</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span>
</div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-9332665744570545112012-05-18T16:34:00.003-06:002012-05-30T23:11:25.262-06:00Week 3 of First Grade<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week in "Real Life" was pretty kooky, so it was nice that our school life was pretty un-eventful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We continued our study of the Old Kingdom of Egypt and on Monday the kids made Egyptian throwing sticks. I posted about them earlier this week, but as a reminder, here is a picture of the finished product:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganluJz-R8oYowiKVfXbE8HjKrSzBMpSFdiWcdtRyqHocS71Ls9l2UQ-iLLgQrsRUmd0XP8fempAbR1Lmy6H0EVBNxKkCh-pZc1muwfspfAGkCsk7bzwX6ArDS6FCeuXTZbBZ4RRC_RTEY/s1600/IMG_0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganluJz-R8oYowiKVfXbE8HjKrSzBMpSFdiWcdtRyqHocS71Ls9l2UQ-iLLgQrsRUmd0XP8fempAbR1Lmy6H0EVBNxKkCh-pZc1muwfspfAGkCsk7bzwX6ArDS6FCeuXTZbBZ4RRC_RTEY/s320/IMG_0334.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Really, how could you forget such amazing works of art?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We continued to read a lot about mummies and pyramids this week, and I had a pretty average project planned for Wednesday, making pyramids. But the kids beat me to it. They spent their play time in their rooms wrapping up some toys in tape, calling them mummies, and then making various <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">sarcophaguses</span> out of boxes they found and decorated. I decided that we could skip the pyramid project, as they're clearly retaining something from this study.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQsxYxAvYaAfiLBUPdgs19oeynUinjx9c2cJ8MqOMZ6hH4TwV_1-kr10-xwh7RUrITdI9owL8KQanEMS6duZl30CL1edM7gxpyKinjDOjL-N0f30B4mEYxzNGrjyqmEgUc7EQNDv-dWcm/s1600/IMG_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQsxYxAvYaAfiLBUPdgs19oeynUinjx9c2cJ8MqOMZ6hH4TwV_1-kr10-xwh7RUrITdI9owL8KQanEMS6duZl30CL1edM7gxpyKinjDOjL-N0f30B4mEYxzNGrjyqmEgUc7EQNDv-dWcm/s320/IMG_0339.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">ChacoKitten and I both especially liked Mickey Mummy in his Nerf Gun Ammo Box Sarcophagus</span></i> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it was a little sad to learn that all of the Cars characters had passed on:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_-lyIie34uDlrNrX1orgk-fgXIqzuzhpiH_LKcW0tkFiqGwN6_-FZ87QYzs74M7YlrxRtyQgtuPEUqGHesobZg-srxGtwanJIzrxjnmPeOnSq5I_3r5kZjb3f_AkZ5mND67q6pe6vZ4h/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_-lyIie34uDlrNrX1orgk-fgXIqzuzhpiH_LKcW0tkFiqGwN6_-FZ87QYzs74M7YlrxRtyQgtuPEUqGHesobZg-srxGtwanJIzrxjnmPeOnSq5I_3r5kZjb3f_AkZ5mND67q6pe6vZ4h/s320/IMG_0340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The horridness of Cars 2 was probably just too much for them all.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started to dig into (punny) the different animal kingdom phyla this week with a look at Annelids. This involved digging in our yard for earth worms or wood lice (aka rollie pollies.) You can guess which science day they liked the most, the one I had a hard time ending.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciLxXfDmqVdntLeZFXg0HDMOuPrb7z04r927H1Z-Ltp6FqE0ayL0X0tDKFFQ3RmaKHshadUWG4K5rztFwGpuChNtIhrKHPB-x9UIo018huQ8Z9lf_AB5Y7yBmw08HHDyK9biIbr4n4jzz/s1600/IMG_0348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciLxXfDmqVdntLeZFXg0HDMOuPrb7z04r927H1Z-Ltp6FqE0ayL0X0tDKFFQ3RmaKHshadUWG4K5rztFwGpuChNtIhrKHPB-x9UIo018huQ8Z9lf_AB5Y7yBmw08HHDyK9biIbr4n4jzz/s320/IMG_0348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Of course we were in costume for this because *something something underground animals in level something something* about some Mario game on the Wii. Whatever.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started the classification chart, but I still haven't decided exactly how this is going to look as a finished project. So, for now, we taped some things to the dining room wall. Because we're classy. I think I'll try to get some string and clips so that we can have a hanging, more mobile-like chart, where they can take down individual cards to study or have to re-arrange for practice. I figure I'll let the kids help me decorate the labels and make them fancy. We're probably not out of rainy weekend days yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>I'm sure I saw something like this on an HGTV contest show and I'm SURE the designer who did this won a million dollars. It's pretty trendy right now.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we, of course, spent as much time enjoying the gorgeous weather. We took a couple of spelling tests outside with sidewalk chalk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Right after this picture was taken, a neighbor's dog tried to pee on Josiah's work. Because it's never a dull moment around here.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other things we worked on:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are plugging away at math, and we are enjoying Singapore 1. The kids could probably stand a little more challenge from their math, but I'm really focusing on building reading and writing fluency right now. Plus it makes them feel like geniuses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We finished Peter Pan, and all the literature narrations that came with it. We'll decide this weekend what to read next, but I'm leaning toward a Little House book. If Josiah can stand it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both kids are progressing nicely in their reading, and gaining more confidence. They've adapted quickly to the new 30 minutes of independent reading time we strive for- and the difference has been huge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week- our history will take us back to Mesopotamia, and the first dictator, Sargon. And in science we'll start studying insects. Yippee...</span>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-41195162200964121972012-05-16T11:19:00.003-06:002012-05-30T23:07:51.051-06:00So I Took a Shower Today...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(This post will be completely SFW-Safe For Work. Unless you work at HGTV...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone keeps encouraging me that I don't have to get up before my kids to shower, or wait for them to go to bed. That they're old enough to spend 15 minutes by themselves without hurting themselves. Today they proved this theory right- they accomplished great feats during my shower this morning, without hurting themselves, and I got a re-decorated kitchen out of it:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nxamEWwbZephgZwNzLMXHrzTZFxM07Y7-TvZH7K-fxPW9Vp2yl_v2NSMyBY9AxVaXPz0cqDcHcicfy3tEpP4j6ojGY_s_d-0jXaVzJRz_E-NAtgRXMUTQxj6YPdgj8JxSRjG_tuLZ3l4/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nxamEWwbZephgZwNzLMXHrzTZFxM07Y7-TvZH7K-fxPW9Vp2yl_v2NSMyBY9AxVaXPz0cqDcHcicfy3tEpP4j6ojGY_s_d-0jXaVzJRz_E-NAtgRXMUTQxj6YPdgj8JxSRjG_tuLZ3l4/s320/IMG_0336.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I love how, with the tiger in the bowl, they mix whimsical with the tranquility of the sleeping Hello Kitties.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I even took the time to put on my make-up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiKftqSbi35-ErGp9olSRei2uY_ur32x1D1UFJLqCiprRcXIWNwr0lfX6ehb99-WL0c_8QHChEyCe87TaBmdGDJrd7Z3stRas5uOSHEEKLDOr57QJ0j6o6AMIIv1QqVUOkTy_6v6O0f2t/s1600/IMG_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiKftqSbi35-ErGp9olSRei2uY_ur32x1D1UFJLqCiprRcXIWNwr0lfX6ehb99-WL0c_8QHChEyCe87TaBmdGDJrd7Z3stRas5uOSHEEKLDOr57QJ0j6o6AMIIv1QqVUOkTy_6v6O0f2t/s320/IMG_0337.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">They call this piece "Ducks Sailing Into Time-Out"</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone is at all curious, they accomplished what's in the first picture by putting a step stool ONTO the kitchen counter, then climbing around ON TOP of the refrigerator. The second picture, of the ducks in a basket that sits rather precariously over the sink... I didn't ask. I don't want to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, technically, my kids have shown that they actually can be trusted not to hurt themselves in ten minutes. But I'm going to go ahead and say I'm not sure their physical safety is my main concern. Guess I'm just a selfish mom like that. And- the next time I'm out and about and I'm, perhaps, a little stinky, just remember this picture. And if I'm NOT stinky, if I'm all clean and shiny- call the fire department to my house STAT.</span></div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-69435926966538429862012-05-14T20:30:00.000-06:002012-05-30T23:08:47.810-06:00Things We Can ThrowMaking History and Science interesting for little ones can be challenging. Especially when your beautiful offspring go beyond the description of "wiggly" into the realm of "Help, I think I've given birth to a visitor from the Other Dimension of Perpetual Motion! And he brought his sister!" At five and six, my kids are simply not going to be able to sit through "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." (And I think only one of their parents could. I'll let you guess which one...) So studying these subjects becomes a balancing act between trying to teach them something and trying to capture their interest-quickly. Because I've usually got about 5 minutes to keep their attention before someone starts poking a pencil in someone's ear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEOQJwE252MpPbhJJBVDzj2-Jt7gL8Tm7TD8Yx2ChhiVRvdNyorqlrSTRTW07d9ORTZ4E9k8XW3guLb5OzuQjPrMHSsJXfC3om_T8zdkFgrRrbrQPJ8tvgqzRRmhi3uG6hVYuk2ujbFSe/s1600/IMG_0311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEOQJwE252MpPbhJJBVDzj2-Jt7gL8Tm7TD8Yx2ChhiVRvdNyorqlrSTRTW07d9ORTZ4E9k8XW3guLb5OzuQjPrMHSsJXfC3om_T8zdkFgrRrbrQPJ8tvgqzRRmhi3uG6hVYuk2ujbFSe/s320/IMG_0311.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">These may look like typical sunglasses, but they're really protective safety goggles. Because you <strike>never</strike> already know who may come after you with pink paint on a brush.</span></i> </div>
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I have had to learn to make peace with the fact that sometimes the project we do may be, technically, not that educational. Sure, I'd like every science experiment to be the first step toward their PhD dissertation or their drawings of monuments be done to scale using high level geometry and algebra. But more often than not, their projects are more educational in the "How to Not Get Glue Stuck in My Nose, Because I Picked My Boogers While Making Macaroni Art 101" or "Advanced How Far Can I Spread Paint Around the House Before Mom Packs It Up and Declares It's Quiet Time."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVNNcpGlecuEkysbySX-nwZJRGZ3FSvOCVCXmUpo_gQP9vACPIwkh7zRCmKNG8Fqx9KNXHxFWROyomJCRNZHCsq06IS3rjyO2Au97PtgqOh5m1DLNnTzWLwNwbZczjFjqBc74DkPXZ2MA/s1600/mrt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVNNcpGlecuEkysbySX-nwZJRGZ3FSvOCVCXmUpo_gQP9vACPIwkh7zRCmKNG8Fqx9KNXHxFWROyomJCRNZHCsq06IS3rjyO2Au97PtgqOh5m1DLNnTzWLwNwbZczjFjqBc74DkPXZ2MA/s320/mrt.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">We've never actually made macaroni art, but if we do, I hope my kids make this. And then they could sell it for $600 on Etsy. (<a href="http://www.regretsy.com/2012/02/07/im-going-to-need-600/">http://www.regretsy.com/2012/02/07/im-going-to-need-600/</a>)</span></i></div>
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This week we return to study Egypt, as we're getting started to put our historical timeline together. A recommended project- making Egyptian throwing sticks. Apparently, these were toys used by Egyptian children, painted to look like serpents, used in throwing games. I guess this would be useful for children who will grow to hunt and fight with spears. My kids will use them to bang on the walls and torment the cats. Like they use every other craft they make.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqLcyG9WR_Aso8eSbtOnU-r1WuPzvrS5Up5xuwpZHCRfPbcW1GQk3RxtvTbMsAHpo2Z2JUT1G1849Bs9odhQqz-UIqP2550cFK6pFNl2aYhBIKZbCz8oB2cGIwRZgZVOwKQNw_NkrFDdy/s1600/cat+in+dryer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqLcyG9WR_Aso8eSbtOnU-r1WuPzvrS5Up5xuwpZHCRfPbcW1GQk3RxtvTbMsAHpo2Z2JUT1G1849Bs9odhQqz-UIqP2550cFK6pFNl2aYhBIKZbCz8oB2cGIwRZgZVOwKQNw_NkrFDdy/s320/cat+in+dryer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It's okay, they find their ways to get their revenge. (Not pictured- poop. IN MY DRYER.)</i></span></div>
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Basically, all this build up is going to be disappointing when you see what we made. We painted wooded spoons to look like snakes:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's okay, you can relax. Despite the what the authentic colors and patterns may make you think, these are not actual snakes.</span></i></div>
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Look how happy we are when we're done painting!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpCPZLqn4TiASApN3tGJY1OgJDzHkA_coHu4qMGHU-xz1w2XAr2Po4lxgpIBElvj8I46pVGxbvTjaNOoWoKK0OQ8BFNztQu1oHMRT7SsMex16z6RQlhMOBMaoeifoyjE7VfShv45Q9skO/s1600/IMG_0325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpCPZLqn4TiASApN3tGJY1OgJDzHkA_coHu4qMGHU-xz1w2XAr2Po4lxgpIBElvj8I46pVGxbvTjaNOoWoKK0OQ8BFNztQu1oHMRT7SsMex16z6RQlhMOBMaoeifoyjE7VfShv45Q9skO/s320/IMG_0325.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"We smiled for the first fifty-six pictures, now all you get from us in barely-contained rage."</i></span></div>
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And, the most important part- they can be thrown.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Look at that form! We're ready to go kill some boar!</span></i></div>
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Or not.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WRVMAR-iF7uQqK8mlx3QphjE2D8kJXVzngfH2lPJ7r8CxN9iLn2AIklHL7NqY8pWDrqBvCFS1UgmWRt3SHl8Q-_LkS1BTeGw9MhsACHTaIGvIqjzHCiA7XVN1Js8sReI_f6M8_x8_Wj6/s1600/IMG_0332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WRVMAR-iF7uQqK8mlx3QphjE2D8kJXVzngfH2lPJ7r8CxN9iLn2AIklHL7NqY8pWDrqBvCFS1UgmWRt3SHl8Q-_LkS1BTeGw9MhsACHTaIGvIqjzHCiA7XVN1Js8sReI_f6M8_x8_Wj6/s320/IMG_0332.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Duck! A wooden spoon painted to look like a psychedelic snake from the River Styx is coming right at your face! That kid in the Where's My Water Shirt means to kill us all!</span></i></div>
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I have no idea if this throwing stick thing has any historical accuracy. I also don't know that I think this would be the most valuable fact for my kids to remember about Ancient Egypt. But they had fun and got to practice some painting. They got some fresh air and got to throw things. Overall, I give this project a rating of "Successful: They Had Fun."<br />
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<br />LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-2937822062137255162012-05-12T11:42:00.003-06:002012-05-12T11:45:18.691-06:00Growing Things That Aren't My KidsI do not have a Green Thumb. I have the opposite of that, whatever it is called. Brown Big Toe? Yet my kids LOVE flowers and plants and every Spring they beg to plant flowers.<br />
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One of the things Rob and I love the most about the home we live in is the low-maintenance yard. You know what doesn't come with low-maintenance yards? Garden space. Truthfully, I'm okay with that. I am A-OK with planting things once a year in some pots, watching them struggle through the summer, then saying good-bye to them in the Fall. It works for me.</div>
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Anywhoodle, to appease, I mean, meet the educational needs of my kids, I agreed to get a germinating box and some seeds so we could start growing our own flowers and vegetables. I let them pick out the seeds we would use. They chose Johnny Jump Ups, Violas, Zucchini and Green Beans. </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here my children show off our high-end gardening tools, also known as butter knives.</span></i></div>
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After just a few weeks of diligent watering and attentive care, here is what we've grown:</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Aren't these the most impressive zucchini you've ever seen?</span></i></div>
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Yeah, I'm totally lying. I just bought these potted plants the same day I bought the seeds (yesterday) and was planning to spend the day re-potting them in our hanging baskets for the front porch. But it's a little overcast and cold today so we decided to wait. </div>
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It's probably for the best, as I'm sure as soon as I try to re-pot these flowers, they will suffer a long, agonizing descent into death. I'm not able to give my kids the year-long garden and flowers they want, but they certainly get a great education into the Life Cycle of Plants.</div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-19568960046089826742012-05-11T19:40:00.000-06:002012-05-11T20:44:29.153-06:00Week 2 of First Grade<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to Mesopotamia!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm pretty ignorant about ancient history. Guess I get to learn right along with the kids. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our study has moved on to the first writing. We started Monday learning about Sumeria and their picture writings, called cuneiform. (Yes, I have to look up how to spell it every time.) Last week at the museum I had picked up a stamp set of Egyptian hieroglyphs (which, for some reason, I know how to spell.) So Monday afternoon they spent some time writing out "sentences" using the stamps. I'm thinking it ended up being more of a spelling project than a history project, but I guess that's the beauty of classical education- all subjects just compliment and boost the others.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoTVviJ0-zc1Ex86Yi_9S5KLnpQohRMhMO2oqyleHYLOo2jpgSnEBAFgfoJyzAr6MNJiEUyWIHGHadUMK3gVFoI7Yu9Bc1i0AauO8HLKVhwMW4XVliakgnHdL2cyTl8irOkw_O3b9o_Lt/s1600/2012-05-07_15-51-47_95.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoTVviJ0-zc1Ex86Yi_9S5KLnpQohRMhMO2oqyleHYLOo2jpgSnEBAFgfoJyzAr6MNJiEUyWIHGHadUMK3gVFoI7Yu9Bc1i0AauO8HLKVhwMW4XVliakgnHdL2cyTl8irOkw_O3b9o_Lt/s320/2012-05-07_15-51-47_95.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">As of this moment, no one has "stamped" anyone else. Yet.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday we continued, and actually did the last month of, the project we started at the beginning of last year- our Year-Long Nature Walk. This is a walk we started doing with lots of friends and so, to be honest, the journal doesn't always get done. To put it in perspective, here's a picture from a previous walk (my camera isn't working this week):</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj148ty6NP0wCyXfAlV_m_g-H9W-ZZchMGOSxcV76mZZdxWMeeyUsCnU2GqMTdlgV09pLrMMdqrH3zqMNh16NWJ6VgfJuUVpIVRiQpHfwGpv94jCHsmUNst6Ky_6UO4RFvcVUsELm5KXisi/s1600/IMG_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj148ty6NP0wCyXfAlV_m_g-H9W-ZZchMGOSxcV76mZZdxWMeeyUsCnU2GqMTdlgV09pLrMMdqrH3zqMNh16NWJ6VgfJuUVpIVRiQpHfwGpv94jCHsmUNst6Ky_6UO4RFvcVUsELm5KXisi/s320/IMG_0755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Yes, that's Josiah in the middle of the back row making goofy faces. Shocking, I know.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's just say that picking specimens to draw and notebooking about our trip when we get home- those things haven't been happening like they should. But the social time and exercise are important, too, and I'm glad we have such great friends. We'll probably start up our new journal one day next week, with a different route, and maybe a few fewer friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did take a little walk on our own on Thursday to work on the beginning of our Animal Classification project. We made two lists, one of the Living Things we found and the other of the Non-Living Things we found.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPS93EHTeSP4Yx8pZ-IS4jK6jnPkHpjSxfN3uT7OMLeJp56Rwhp0FwBl20dYv8K8rkGeKFqDadG41IA0t1o0Zhz5OyCo13dPYfwdwuxnHqD4cpZrFkDLI-l0KGmtlPHQc1HlPvLKiG7gL/s1600/living+non+living+chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPS93EHTeSP4Yx8pZ-IS4jK6jnPkHpjSxfN3uT7OMLeJp56Rwhp0FwBl20dYv8K8rkGeKFqDadG41IA0t1o0Zhz5OyCo13dPYfwdwuxnHqD4cpZrFkDLI-l0KGmtlPHQc1HlPvLKiG7gL/s320/living+non+living+chart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>No indication of the slug-fest that was happening right before this picture...</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to figure out how we're going to do the animal classification thing. Maybe Rob will come home with a big chart hanging on the dining room wall. He'll be so thrilled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In honor of the loss of Maurice Sendak this week, we have been reading and re-reading some of his books. Chicken Soup With Rice is the decided favorite, but we also enjoy Higglety Pigglety, Where the Wild Things Are and The Note on Rosie's Door. We're a bit undecided about Outside Over There. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the educational books and forget to read some silly books just for fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're almost done with Peter Pan, which has been the source for most of our Literature exercises this week. We also had our first spelling test through the curriculum, All About Spelling. Shockingly, Josiah declared that he LOVES spelling, spelling tests are his favorite things, and he wants to do more. Go figure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week- more on Egypt before we move onto Sumeria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I've decided to keep a separate post each week for the books we've read. That way, anyone looking for TOG/SOTW coordination lists won't have to wade through the rest of our posts.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-26573622329236390572012-05-11T18:40:00.000-06:002012-05-30T23:12:01.416-06:00Week 2- SOTW and TOG Reading List<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>READING LOG</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First Grade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">TOG-1, SOTW-1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We're using both Tapestry of Grace and Story of the World this year, so I thought I'd keep a log of the books we read, as well as the sections/weeks we've coordinated between the two spines. Both kids are in first grade. I have an Excel spreadsheet in progress but I'll wait to post that until we're further along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*I liked the way that SOTW laid out the first few weeks in chronological order, so I used that as my main "map." I pulled literature recommendations from TOG in the weeks that I felt corresponded to the topic SOTW covered. There are lots of over-laps in the first few weeks. We frequently read a few of these books out of order, and/or repeated them if we enjoyed them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">** We combined weeks 1 and 2 of SOTW, as we had covered them before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><u>Week 2: (May 7-May 11, 2012)</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>Coordinated Weeks: SOTW weeks 3, TOG week 2-3</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">SOTW chapter 3</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, “Mesopotamia" and "The Birth of Writing", pages 16-19</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, “Sumer and Akkad", page 9</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Archaeologists Dig for Clues, by Kate Duke</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, by Tomie dePaola</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little Grunt and the Big Egg, by Tomie dePaola</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder, by Jacqueline Morley</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Archaeologists Dig For Clues, but Kate Duke</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">See Inside Ancient Egypt (Usborne Flap Book) by Rob Lloyd Jones
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<li><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bible Story: Noah, the Flood and The Tower of Babel, from The Children’s Illustrated Bible (pages 22-29)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Books in<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">Red</span> are books I consider <span style="color: #990000;">Historical Texts</span>, and the books in <span style="color: #073763;">Blue</span> I consider<span style="color: #073763;"> Literature</span>.</span></div>
LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-53658735512651806092012-05-08T18:11:00.003-06:002012-05-08T22:45:45.368-06:00EIGHT YEARS ALREADY?!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today marks our eight year wedding anniversary. I simply cannot believe how time has flown!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to take a minute away from homeschool and mom-stuff to ponder a while on our marriage. But a minute is about all I'll get, as time and life do not slow down. Rob leaves for a 2.5 week road trip tomorrow, and it's a Tuesday, and his computer got a virus so he was up all night fixing it last night and is sleep-deprived, and he needs to pack, which means I have to be sure I'm caught up on laundry... So we're not going to celebrate in a big fancy way tonight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSbEdgK4elt1nECV1BXPUtigEBrOOixzOGMpfUFvye3y14_RJIJ90DSX8y8jdQzrBcvwb9hzXM0j_Ukd-U1ZPUo86IpNVx-7dqZlMiNi62XMa4ko2rWbjm-Pw6cZ5AhiWSkVS8lMSHBYR/s1600/534771_10151092553639899_674674898_13219208_1603913687_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSbEdgK4elt1nECV1BXPUtigEBrOOixzOGMpfUFvye3y14_RJIJ90DSX8y8jdQzrBcvwb9hzXM0j_Ukd-U1ZPUo86IpNVx-7dqZlMiNi62XMa4ko2rWbjm-Pw6cZ5AhiWSkVS8lMSHBYR/s320/534771_10151092553639899_674674898_13219208_1603913687_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And after seeing this picture, who wants a big fancy meal? Who ARE these skinny people?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I think big special days are important to celebrate, there's also something to be said for celebrating every day in such a way that big days aren't necessary. Now, I'm not saying we do that. We've had our ups and downs, our times of closeness and of drifting apart, and we're certainly not a poster couple for the Perfect Marriage. But we try. And we try together. That says a lot in this day and age. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And things have often been hard. We had two kids really quickly (surprise!) and didn't figure out how to be a couple until we were also trying to learn how to be parents. We've also had four pretty traumatic, second or third trimester miscarriages. And those are just the things that I can talk about in terms of <i>my</i> emotional health. Rob has his own. Mine have taken me through depression, and on the way back out, and Rob and the kids have been dragged on that ride with me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he's stuck by me. And fought for me. No, not fought me, but fought FOR me. I will love him forever for that. Even when he doesn't put his socks in the hamper.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDih89x5C33tzo7kdGWAwN0ncZB5MEqhlWs-INng8jSkh1cety_9jRyfivgzpCIYA_hQrK5aqdhijX87f72CuFQbARcYOX490j4h89w3KM9CH40gdG3MEsE3ue14a5-DsA9ycJalu84Ade/s1600/466066_10150779329915770_724510769_9903358_1713863184_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDih89x5C33tzo7kdGWAwN0ncZB5MEqhlWs-INng8jSkh1cety_9jRyfivgzpCIYA_hQrK5aqdhijX87f72CuFQbARcYOX490j4h89w3KM9CH40gdG3MEsE3ue14a5-DsA9ycJalu84Ade/s320/466066_10150779329915770_724510769_9903358_1713863184_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>He also "drags" us on road trips, like to the Space Needle in Seattle, where now pictures are taken from the waist up</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here's to you, my loving husband, Rob. Thanks for loving me more than I deserve. Thanks for being an amazing father. I strive to be as wonderful a wife and mother to try to meet you at least partway. Here's to eight more years, no decades, of the best journey ever.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(You can tell I'm not slowing down too much, as I've actually taken these two pictures from posts other people put on my Facebook wall. I cannot even take the time out to go look for my own pictures! I have science to teach and dinner to cook... Anywhoodle, thanks to Laurel and Rob for the pics!)</span></i>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-19263031260765160472012-05-06T18:04:00.004-06:002012-05-08T22:47:04.115-06:00The Battle for Dominance<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" Uncle Ben, Spider Man</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You're not in charge, Dada is." My kids, every time I ask them to do anything. Ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, those quotes may be misleading, a little. First of all, I have no idea what the origin of that first quote really is and I cannot be bothered to go look it up. Secondly, my kids do occasionally do what I ask. Like when I say, "Please finish your ice cream."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, there was this evening, when Gabrielle and I shared this beautiful moment. I told her to get her shoes on, her dad wants us all to go out to dinner. Gabs, being her mother's daughter, would rather eat at home. I told her, as I do often, "I'm sorry, Gabs, but we need to do what your dad wants. He's in charge."* She disappeared for a minute into my bedroom and came out like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Those are not her shoes. I do try to buy them big enough for them to grow into, but I don't plan quite this far ahead.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When asked why she had her dad's flip flops on instead of her own shoes, her response was this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Now I have the bossy shoes on and I'm in charge."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If only we could grab control over other people by simply stealing their shoes. The world would finally value fabulous shoes the way they should.</span>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-23074386250443285982012-05-05T15:46:00.001-06:002012-05-08T22:46:44.932-06:00Birthday Insanity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZxaWqfvd5CNy-NOGLGeL5QNWRXFFRauiG5J7nwd2KIdq0eh_Xsxi35HwB8N1seO2V0JDvo19lWX6aTRg6PBz-g8eD-T0R-QSuqOl_8fmE-ypmchDjxr-pB5wiZuYRxvF8Oasph9lQcjm/s1600/466804_3913188116611_1486661934_33396027_324281150_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZxaWqfvd5CNy-NOGLGeL5QNWRXFFRauiG5J7nwd2KIdq0eh_Xsxi35HwB8N1seO2V0JDvo19lWX6aTRg6PBz-g8eD-T0R-QSuqOl_8fmE-ypmchDjxr-pB5wiZuYRxvF8Oasph9lQcjm/s320/466804_3913188116611_1486661934_33396027_324281150_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Pictured: Deliciosness</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why did we make a football cake for Aunt Debbie, who does not watch, or play, football, for her birthday? Why did my kids want to hang a Kansas City Chiefs blanket on the banister as a "Happy Birthday Banner" for her visit? Because her birthday (May 3) falls too close to Rob's (April 23.) And he was traveling on his birthday, so she got the overflow of all the things Josiah and Gabrielle didn't get to do for their dad. Sometimes it's hard not to make other people's special days all about you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are times that I wonder if my kids are a bit self-centered. Okay, I don't wonder that at all. To a degree, all kids are selfish, some are just more successful and obnoxious about it.. Shoot, that's true of all types of people, of any age. Anywhoodle, I guess what I mean is that I wonder if my kids are self-centered beyond repair, and if I'm not doing enough to address it. I don't think about it too much, because I spend a lot of time wondering if they'll ever stop picking their noses while they talk to complete strangers about our cats. (There's a lot in that sentence to digest, I'll let you decide for yourselves which particular part of that situation I worry about.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Debbie's birthday, we picked her up from the airport at 10 and then took her to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Because what first grade teacher wouldn't want to spend one of her few days off, her birthday no less, surrounded by the most field-trip over-loaded place in the Denver Metro area? So why did we do it? Because we live about as far from the airport as you can get and still be considered within the suburbs of Denver. Also on that side of town? You guessed it. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science. So it just seemed smart to go there on our way home. And the last time we went, I was the only adult with three kids. I thought the two adult, two kid ratio would be more fun for us all. That's right, we planned what to do with Aunt Debbie, for her birthday, around what would be the most fun and entertaining for us.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWABBzIH1m_y8Me8kyh-2Y5yzpEaZ3F5V76WpCjt1RaeFHzhIzEdLu0i7vB75UT-vUgFOBj5jFa0MYdnhg70O3AOigKRsfBt9kvEi9KakQ5lsPSlaMueBi2wroVdXrng5iSYaq39Ij33vZ/s1600/6993619420_c529812992_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWABBzIH1m_y8Me8kyh-2Y5yzpEaZ3F5V76WpCjt1RaeFHzhIzEdLu0i7vB75UT-vUgFOBj5jFa0MYdnhg70O3AOigKRsfBt9kvEi9KakQ5lsPSlaMueBi2wroVdXrng5iSYaq39Ij33vZ/s320/6993619420_c529812992_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>We ran into a little trouble while there, but nothing we couldn't handle</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So am I teaching my kids to be selfish? Maybe. Then again, Aunt Debbie is a first grade teacher, probably the best one on the planet, and she does it because she loves it. So she actually does enjoy things that other grown-ups might not. She's also their aunt, and my sister, and she loves us. She wants to be a part of our lives, and, well, museum visits are a huge part of our lives. Sometimes I think the most special way you can show someone love is to simply invite them to participate in your life. To welcome you into the daily routine, the regular chores, the repetitive arguments and struggles- well, to do that, you're showing them that you trust them. I want my kids to learn to be themselves around those they love, so they can then learn that people love them just the way they are. Sure, they aren't perfect, but they're loveable anyway. On top of that, people feel validated and valuable when they share things that they are excited about with others, and those people share their excitement. It's a bonding experience, and such an important part of developing a child's self-identity and self-worth. (Hear that, Rob? Think of how validated I could feel if you would just get excited about SHOES?!)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we went to the museum, we made a football cake, and we gave her Nerf guns as a present. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>She also got to ride on one of the metal wolves outside the museum which may have been the best part for her.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But my kids also drew her many pictures, writing "I love you Deebie" on them. They tried to give her their own toys, wrapped in the blankets off of their beds. They woke up this morning asking "What are we going to do for Aunt Debbie's birthday today? What does SHE want?" I think, so far, they're not worryingly selfish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But give us time. I have more than a decade to corrupt them some more...</span>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-85072632628119970482012-05-04T21:33:00.000-06:002012-05-12T06:33:46.766-06:00Week 1 of First Grade<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're starting First Grade, we're starting First Grade!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has been the musical chant all week from Gabrielle. She is SO excited to be doing "Real School." Here are some of the things we are doing this week:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made our own continents!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> I knew all of those Lego sets Rob buys would come in handy- their empty boxes make great craft foundations!</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3QkLEf1DX-7083H4oanrPYnxl4oVdgOThe4kQV7oN11ZvZkQcLjomzr0Rzb8I5hW96kW5zrnO3RseLISF4Q8J5-ZiJR7UTu8NIRw-r9etJxhGHsrQZR5Q0TYCrQDxuIaSJVWkoPaieGm/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3QkLEf1DX-7083H4oanrPYnxl4oVdgOThe4kQV7oN11ZvZkQcLjomzr0Rzb8I5hW96kW5zrnO3RseLISF4Q8J5-ZiJR7UTu8NIRw-r9etJxhGHsrQZR5Q0TYCrQDxuIaSJVWkoPaieGm/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Josiah's finished continent</span></i> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gabrielle's finished continent</i></span></div>
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We are learning about how the world looks, how people chose where to live in the Ancient World, why the Fertile Crescent was desirable, while some Nomads settled down to build civilizations near the Nile River. We're learning geographic concepts, like peninsula, bay, mountain, river. These sculptures were made with salt dough, then painted after they dried:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gabrielle chose turquoise water, and ChacoKitten, in the background, approves.</i></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Josiah chose a more traditional blue water for the deep sea and turquoise near the shore.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a fun project and a nice launch for our year. Both kids love to paint, so any opportunity we can find to give them that outlet, we take. Next time, when we're a little further along in our writing and reading, we'll have them make label flags for the various topographical features. For now, we're content to enjoy some "school that is actually fun!", as Josiah says.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also done this week:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've started reading Peter Pan and have made a couple of chapter narrations for our Language folders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did some map work, learning about the Nile River in Egypt, specifically it's annual flooding and the Delta.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We visited the Museum of Nature and Science, where we enjoyed the Expedition Health exhibit the most. We watched the IMAX movie<i> Into the Arctic</i>, which was given a "pretty good" rating from the kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We finished up our unit on coin counting for math, and the kids are moving on to the next section in their phonics and reading and math, as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the agenda for next week: We'll be studying ancient writing and starting our study of the animal kingdom.. </span></div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-17130170865725196532012-05-04T20:32:00.000-06:002012-05-12T06:33:21.733-06:00Week 1- SOTW and TOG Reading List<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>READING LOG</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First Grade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">TOG-1, SOTW-1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We're using both Tapestry of Grace and Story of the World this
year, so I thought I'd keep a log of the books we read, as well as the
sections/weeks we've coordinated between the two spines. Both kids are in
first grade. I have an Excel spreadsheet in progress but I'll wait to post that until we're further along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*I liked the way that SOTW laid out the first few weeks in
chronological order, so I used that as my main "map." I pulled
literature recommendations from TOG in the weeks that I felt corresponded to
the topic SOTW covered. There are lots of over-laps in the first few
weeks. We frequently read a few of these books out of order, and/or repeated them if we enjoyed them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">** We combined weeks 1 and 2 of SOTW, as we had covered them
before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><u>Week 1: (April 30-May 4, 2012)</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>Coordinated Weeks: SOTW weeks 1-2, TOG week 1</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">SOTW chapters 1 and 2<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, “Early
Civilizations” pages 12-14<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, “The First Farmers” page 8</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">Archaeologists Dig for Clues, by Kate Duke<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">The First Dog by Jan Brett<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">Little Grunt and the Big Egg, by Tomie dePaola</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder, by Jacqueline Morley<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">Archaeologists Dig For Clues, but Kate Duke<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">Bible Story: Creation and The Garden of Eden, from The Children’s
Illustrated Bible (pages 18-21)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">See Inside Ancient Egypt (Usborne Flap Book) by Rob Lloyd Jones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Books in<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;">Red</span> are books I consider <span style="color: #990000;">Historical Texts</span>, and the books in <span style="color: #073763;">Blue</span> I consider<span style="color: #073763;"> Literature</span>.</span></div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-37569910102710632962012-05-02T20:03:00.000-06:002012-05-05T20:05:56.978-06:00Homeschooling- WITH CATS!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's never a dull moment when you live with a young and adventurous cat. This is especially true if you also live with extremely energetic five and six year old kids whom you are trying to get to sit still. A while ago I was trying to take a picture of a weather chart for our month to month weather charting project, and here are some of the results:</span><br />
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<i>How could such innocence be so frustrating?</i></div>
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<i> Like he doesn't have enough places to lay out. Except for, you know, the whole rest of the house.</i></div>
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<i>And no cat picture collection would be complete without the obligatory action shot of the cat trying to eat the camera</i>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since that day in August, I've learned to try to do things like this when the cats are sleeping or otherwise engaged in harassing someone else. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that Spring is here and the weather is nice, the kids and I have been doing more and more of our school work outside. This upsets our cats, who would like to be out there with us. I'm not convinced it's because they want to spend the time with us. No, I think it's because they want to wreak as much havoc on me as they can. So, today, little ChacoKitten has upped the stakes:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I framed and cropped this picture in such a way to limit how much dirt in my window track you can see.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, that is a gigantic hole torn into our window screen. This annoys me, and not just because I had to chase his maniac self around the neighborhood to get him safely back inside. No, this annoys me most because that means there is one less window we can open to let in the fresh air during school time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess we'll just have to spend even more time outside. Rough life.</span></div>
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<br />LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-32598044137042599962012-05-01T16:50:00.000-06:002012-05-05T20:05:56.971-06:00The Nitty-Gritty: Curricula discussions<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WARNING- This will only be potentially interesting to about 1% of the population- those that are interested in homeschooling, paranoid family members who think we're ruining our kids and want to check up on us, and strangers with such insane insomnia that they've somehow wandered over to this random corner of the Internet. If you're not one of those people, TURN BACK NOW. And if you are one of those people- well, it's still boring. But I'm writing it for myself, and Josiah and Gabrielle, as a record, and for reminders and accountability when we need it. So there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here it is- the obligatory curricula blog. Below I will list the curricula we will use this year, and the ones we hope to use but may not get to because, holy cow, where did all the time go?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing you should know about us- we do a wacky May-April school year. I'm not going to bore you with the details why we chose this right now- there'll be plenty of other details I'll bore you with in this post. So starting April 30, the 2012-2013 school year begins with both Josiah and Gabrielle in the first grade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've chosen to do a Classical approach to education. That can mean a million things. For us, it means I read <i>The Well-Trained Mind</i> by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, liked what they have to say, and planned our curricula around this. We'll use the trivium approach, beginning the first of four Grammar years this year.</span><br />
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<i>A copy of the picture of the cover from Amazon. I am an amateur blogger, deal with it.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll use <i>Tapestry of Grace </i>and <i>Story of the World</i> for History, and as our spine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll use <i>First Language Lessons, Writing With Ease, All About Spelling and Explode the Code</i> for Language.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've chosen <i>Easy Classical Science</i> for, well, Science.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We use <i>Singapore Math</i> for our Math curriculum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll use <i>Artistic Pursuits</i> for art appreciation (although I haven't received this yet, and it will be the first thing I drop if/when we get over-whelmed.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For anyone still reading, and interested, I'll describe our interpretation of the classical approach. To me, classical education is defined by three main characteristics: 1) An emphasis on history, 2) An emphasis on language, and 3) The Trivium. We'll do a lot of reading, a lot of narrating, dictating, and drawing as part of our note-booking, and we'll hopefully get to do lots of fun things like craft projects and science experiments. We'll chose our literature and projects around what part of history we're in. This first year, our focus will be on Ancient History through 400AD, the creation of the world through the fall of Rome. Our second year focuses on Medieval and Early Renaissance history, the third focuses on Late Renassance to Early Modern history, and then in fourth grade we'll study Modern History, 1850 through the present day. Then in fifth grade, we'll enter the Dialectic/Logic phase of their education, which will last for four years, and follow the same four year pattern. The last four years, the high school years, are called the Rhetoric phase, and we'll start the pattern over one more time. So everything the kids study now they'll get two more cracks at before graduating. I'm excited that this will allow us to choose our pace and depth of study based on our skills. We can skim Ancient Assyria if we want to dig in and spend extra time on Ancient China because we know we get to do it all over again later. I also like the fact that they'll be studying history in order. That just makes so much sense to me. And, probably most important of all, I just really love the focus on language- the reading of, interpretation of and creation of literature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am excited about this year, but I won'r pretend that a part of me isn't more than a little overwhelmed. It's a lot to cover! I hope to do posts every week, on what we're studying, and what we've done. But as I've said in another post- I want this to be about our lives, too. We'll just have to see how it goes, huh?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, so there it is. Wasn't too painful, for me at least...</span><br />
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</div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-16594290853792495962012-04-30T01:27:00.000-06:002012-05-05T20:05:56.954-06:00Restarting the Journey<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot believe it's been 2.5 years since I last blogged anything... Guess perhaps I've been busy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to start up again because we're hitting a new place in our lives: "Real School." Okay, so it's not really "Real School" because we're still homeschooling. But the kids have finished up their kindergarten work and we're beginning First Grade. That's right, I capitalize First Grade because Gabrielle says it this way. She is quite excited to tell anyone and everyone that she is now in First Grade. Grade levels are, of course, completely arbitrary in our homeschooling environment, but I'm not going to be the one to dampen her enthusiasm. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hate to add my voice to the already thousands out there clamoring and trumpeting their homeschooling blogs. So I'll try not to make this a big ol' curriculum review site or personal brag site. But I am a mom who homeschools full time. So there's going to be a bit of that mentioned here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do hope to keep this about our lives, too. Our adventures, our stories, our mis-adventures, our nightmares... It shouldn't be too hard to keep it wacky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd also like a better way of documenting all that we do. Sure, we do notebooks and pictures. But I am not the scrap-booking kind of girl. Craftiness is not in my bones. So maybe someday the kids will look back on this and appreciate having it all out here. Or maybe they'll hate me and try to make me pay for their therapy bills. Since I'm planning on paying those bills anyway, because of all the other trauma I'll probably inflict on them, I'll take the chance on the blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, at the very least, I will hope to have an outlet to pretend like I'm speaking to the outside world every once in a while. </span><br />
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<br />LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-47077001931473909782009-08-04T16:10:00.000-06:002009-08-04T16:40:05.004-06:00Claiming my Children- ElizabethFor the most part, I don't like to admit that my children have any of my personality. I know, parents are supposed to be beaming with pride every time they uncover a little gem of a personality quirk little Junior seems to have mined from the family genes. Cynics would say I must not love my children enough if I don't want to claim them in public, and a therapist would probably tell me I don't like myself enough to recognize my own good qualities. Whatever, I don't honestly have time to think about that stuff. My kids are crazy. And they get it from Rob.<br /><br />But I'm starting to have to come to terms with the fact that my kids may actually be a lot like me. And not like the Elizabeth that I try to be, or that I at least try to convince others that I am. No, my kids seem to be the Elizabeth that my mom and sister have always complained about, the one that I am continually talking to inside my head, telling her to back off because if she comes out, bad things will happen. (Any therapists reading this are having a field day with me right now...)<br /><br />My mom tells a story from my childhood, when I was about 2.5-3 years old. In this story (which is one I fully embrace, not one of the ones I believe she is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">mis</span>-remembering...) <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">precocious</span> little Beth comes running up to say, "I drew a B, I drew a B!" My mother, being the perfectionist she is, says, "That's nice, but why does your B have three loops instead of just two?" Without missing a beat, little Beth says, "It's a B on a rock!" This story frightens me a lot, especially now that I'm a mother and realize that having a child of 2.5 who can write letters, while impressive, is exhausting. And having a child that can cover her mistakes with excuses and complicated stories is just plain torture.<br /><br />One of the letters of the week we're doing at our house is, ironically, the letter B. You can only imagine where this story is going. Josiah, being my less-academic child, has always avoided anything to do with letters, writing, spelling... learning in general. (I don't push him, mostly because I don't care if he ever learns his letters because that means he'll never be able to text or email me nasty little messages when he's a teenager...) But yesterday he was all fired up to do some drawing. The first thing he did was draw two circles on top of each other, and then proudly announced that he wrote a B. I cheered him on, took crayons out of Gabby's mouth and returned to removing the stickers from the couch. Josiah kept drawing, and presented me with about four more renditions of his interpretation of the letter B.<br /><br />I'm not a complete jerk of a mom, so I did a lot of praising and all that jazz the books tell you to do so that your kids wait until they have their own jobs before wanting to shell out money for therapy. Then I held up our little B poster and asked him if we could compare his B to the ones in the picture. We eventually uncovered the fact that his B did not have a long line from top to bottom like the B on our poster did. So I asked him if he wanted to add a line to his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bs</span>.<br /><br />His response, after barely pausing to take a breath: "Mama, my B doesn't like to stand up straight. Mine likes to roll, fast like a race car, so I need to leave it round like wheels so it can GO! <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Vroom</span>!" And then his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bs</span> went racing around the room, soon to be followed by Gabby's.<br /><br />I'm not really sure how to respond. Are we glad he shows creativity and imagination? Are we impressed he even knows what a letter is, let alone being about to identify one AND have the desire to draw it? Do we think he'll be flipping burgers or pumping gas because I don't have to discipline to make him sit down and keep trying until he gets it right? (If you choose the last one, then I'll just tell you now that Josiah will be coming home smelling like gasoline or fry grease, because that whole abuse, I mean strict correction, is simply not happening with me...)<br /><br />And here's the truth- the only way I know to respond is to finally admit that my little terror may actually be a lot like his mom. And now I have to go call my mom and sister, and apologize for, well, my entire childhood...LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-80131579051111516212009-05-13T13:30:00.000-06:002009-05-29T13:43:44.762-06:00Reading- by JosiahGuess what?! I'm learning how to read! And it is SO awesome!<br /><br />I should mention that Mom, being the total wet blanket that she always is, keeps trying to tell me that I'm not really reading. She says it in her really "nice" voice- the one she uses when she's totally ruining my world but acting like she wishes she weren't. The one she used when she told me I couldn't grow up to be a dinosaur, the one she used when she told me I could never turn Gabby into a brother, the one she uses when she tells me I can't be a woman when I grow up so I can paint my toenails, too. I know she means well, but as soon as I hear that tone of voice, I stop listening. Because the news is never good.<br /><br />Anyhow, Mom keeps talking about how I really need to learn all my letters first. Whatever. Gabby knows her letters, she's known them for months. So any time anyone asks me what a letter is, I just stall, and Gabby will yell it out. Then I just repeat whatever she said. That little freak of a nerd has known her letters since before she turned 2, so I figure I don't need to bother with it. After all, she knows nothing about the different kind of contruction trucks, emergency vehicles and race cars. Together, we've got it covered.<br /><br />Besides, you can totally read without even looking at letters. It's simple, really, you just ask Mom, "Mom, what does that say?" And Mom tells you, and, bam, you've read it. Mom says that's not really me reading, that's her reading. But my theory is that reading is figuring out what signs, books, TV credits, receipts, magazines are all trying to communicate. Well, I've figured out that Mom can tell me, so, by definition, I'm reading, right? It's like that whole "language's primary goal is to communicate things, and if something is successfully communicated, grammar and spelling are unnecessary" argument. (In case you're wondering, Mom doesn't subscribe to that idea, either, she's always correcting me on how to pronounce things and "conjugate verbs," whatever that means...)<br /><br />My favorite time to read is in the car. Especially on the way to soccer practice, when Gabby's not there, and it's just me and mom. That's a pretty long drive, and we go down lots of streets with lots of signs. I just yell out, "Mom, what does that sign say?" and Mom says something. I don't really care what she says, because I'm already looking for the next sign. I heard someone bragging once about speed-reading, so I figure the goal is to read as many signs between our house and the soccer field as possible. I think today we hit 73 or something like that. I don't know for sure, though, because I only like to count to 20. I let Gabby handle the counting of anything beyond that.<br /><br />Anyhow, I just wanted to share in case you hadn't learned to read yet. (Gabby just pointed out that people who can't read couldn't read this blog. See what I mean- total nerd. I just hit her on the head with a tractor and she's went off crying to Mom.) Guess I better wrap this up, it seems I'm in trouble. But I'll keep you posted on my reading progress!LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-38183076719726441452009-05-07T15:48:00.000-06:002009-05-07T16:22:35.399-06:00Popsicles- or not...- Josiah<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-S6adlGiRXGfmCibbdW_CknNnFqpdEXBrn-RDrtnTYa4vgwi4Hlff0ypipdONCFJ2gmRmbGfHVYucoro8g26whjVph6s-45E0bZb8FmS2p-lwQflcMNCA_KVBWFdTs7fzYjn3jR7Q_skS/s1600-h/IMG_0032.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333210997632440210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-S6adlGiRXGfmCibbdW_CknNnFqpdEXBrn-RDrtnTYa4vgwi4Hlff0ypipdONCFJ2gmRmbGfHVYucoro8g26whjVph6s-45E0bZb8FmS2p-lwQflcMNCA_KVBWFdTs7fzYjn3jR7Q_skS/s320/IMG_0032.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I really worry for my Mom. I don't think she's very smart. And I think, when she doesn't know the answer to my questions, she makes things up.<br /><br />Today, she was working in Gabby's room a lot, which I took to mean she wanted me to play on my own. I got that idea when she kept saying, "Josiah, please put down that laundry / the carpet cleaner/ my hammer and go play on your own!" I figure, since she was so busy upstairs, that probably meant that I should play downstairs. And since she was pulling everything out of Gabby's drawers and closet, she would probably like me to do the same in her room. I figured she's always doing nice things for Gabby and I, and never gets to take care of her own room, so I would help her out. A nice surprise for Mother's Day, right?<br /><br />So while I carefully emptied the cabinets from under both sinks in Mom and Dad's bathroom, and stacked everything in order by size and color, I can across a pretty pink box. Inside was one nicely wrapped, long packet that looked familiar. I ran up the stairs and found Mom, and yelled, "Look Mom, I found a popsicle! Can I have it?!? PLEASE??!?" Mom started to giggle a bit and said, "Josiah, that's not a popsicle, that's a pregnancy test. Please stop playing in Mom's bathroom."<br /><br />Okay, here's the thing. Mom is smart enough to know, just by seeing that thing, that I had been in her bathroom. But it's like she's allowed just one minute of intelligence a day, and that was it, and from there on out, she's a total rock. I know this because she could not answer a single one of my questions. I asked her what this "pregnancy test" was for. She said it was to know if we were going to have another baby. Well, Dad has already said that we will only have another baby "if we can figure out what in the heck we're supposed to do with the two we already have, and if we move into a bigger house with a room set aside just for Dad so that he can have some peace and quiet for just 5 little minutes once a week." Well, since we know that's not happening, we know we're not having a baby, so I don't get what this test thing is for.<br /><br />I asked Mom how it works, and I think she was just too distracted to realize the crazy thing she was saying. She started talking about PEEING on this thing, and how that was just like how I peed in the cup at the doctor's office, and that there were these chemical things that happen in a Mom's body that help her know she's going to have a baby and you can tell this in her pee and this stick would know if the chemicals were there and tell her if she's pregnant.<br /><br />That's okay, you can take a couple of seconds of silence to try to absorb that crazy talk, I know I did.<br /><br />Are you all right? Okay, I'll continue... So, yeah, then I figured we should test this thing out. I asked Mom if I could pee on it. She said no. How about Gabby? She said no. How about Taco or Bandit, or Grandma or Grandpa, or Pastor Bill or my Cubbie leaders... No, no, no. She said it only works if the Mom pees on it, which I don't think can be right. I mean, Gabby's the last baby we had in this house, and if any of those other people could have had early warning that she was coming, they would have needed it. She's a disaster! I told Mom the next time we went to the store, we should buy all those people pregnancy tests so that they could know if they are having any babies coming along. As far as I'm concerned, fore-warned is fore-armed.<br /><br />Not that I really buy into this whole peeing on a stick thing. I mean, it's all a little ridiculous, you know? Just another one of those stories Mom makes up when she doesn't know how to answer my questions. I can't wait until we go to church choir practice tonight, I'll ask my teachers, I'm sure they'll tell me the truth...</div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-27847412045881830232009-05-06T11:02:00.000-06:002009-05-06T11:09:03.797-06:00Nature vs. Library- ElizabethNow that the weather is nice, I'm trying to get the kids outside more. Today, I decided to forego our usual Wednesday morning library trip to spend some time in the yard. Here's what happened: <div><div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332758931305502626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjZCmfz50hA-HTdyUV3O01ib2T-a_PIKYA7vpPaStgDpqhJ08FbZn4Sl4VPvwyMeSx2-4_NqCE5DgxkhE8C_-xkKA0Whmn_x51BNKMKbCSfpIv-Ry5at-ZDg9gvdIc1Ak_k7PMJ_VON2C/s320/IMG_0099.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">Gabby ran past me with two dead field mice in her hands.</p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332758383857336498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGMZPEsaHAPIOKM6V9gj8rK2ZmldghvkYvpqNQMvOK9yZeAKviGBarusua6fsng9YshSa01OBaOdjBNydDKcu3fQf5uqVs7ndG2US4KV5e3wqOoXHcnbtCKeJ36ZPwsH-Lsu3H659PMeE/s320/IMG_0168.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332758206193290274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBU2bFSFhFgC9_SUbLpkhte3py54wy3fK3f5BNNpMXLC_Z5_UXfHkblELL29Vp4FP_R8QZTjVx5yiPwZrg8XSX7M5L5IhxJz1Qxhr3NSoXU8t1rGbOjYcE3SUIaUBcoQlA0Q3vDj6newv/s320/IMG_0165.JPG" border="0" /></p></div></div><br /><p align="center">And Taco brought us home a dead, bloody snake.</p><p>I think I've had enough nature for one morning. We're going to clean up, and sanitize ourselves until our skin burns, and go to the library.</p>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-74790757333418071762009-05-05T13:57:00.001-06:002009-05-06T10:51:58.953-06:00My Green Thumb- Josiah<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0jHE0aNybj8hAGR6tRQLRq55mkK9XpNS2S82K6xEbrfnhzLNJBhyphenhyphenCaGsw5jjscxUrLeBx_Byaalm-cZ7UGX5wp6XqNPc4V-GW-qo2LDK6IuULpl-KO3f8sfB-9BFxcOPZizdE8ZbUerJ/s1600-h/IMG_0123.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332754702478804882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0jHE0aNybj8hAGR6tRQLRq55mkK9XpNS2S82K6xEbrfnhzLNJBhyphenhyphenCaGsw5jjscxUrLeBx_Byaalm-cZ7UGX5wp6XqNPc4V-GW-qo2LDK6IuULpl-KO3f8sfB-9BFxcOPZizdE8ZbUerJ/s320/IMG_0123.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I really, really, really love what Mom calls our "science lesson" this month. She calls it planting and gardening, I call it making a big mess out of dirt without getting into trouble.<br /><br />We've never really had much dirt for me to dig in. Mom and Dad say they both really don't like yard work, so they purposely chose a house with a small, simple yard "that backs to open space so we can see nature without being responsible for it." I don't really know what all that means, but it basically sounds like my Mom and Dad are too lazy to provide for me something that is fun. Typical.<br /><br />But Mom's kinda gotten into this educational kick lately (something about TV frying my brain and maybe if I spend some time outside she will stop finding Legos in the air vents...) So she came up with the idea that if I plant seeds, she could try to teach me about roots and stems. And phloem, xylem, sclerenchyma and photosynthesis... yeah, I was listening, but don't tell Mom, it might go to her head. So Mom went out and bought some seeds, dirt and pots. And Grandma bought Gabby and I each some gloves, kneeling pads, trowells, cultivators and watering cans that all match with Diego on them for me and Dora on them for Gabby- because Grandma knows what is important.<br /><br />Planting the seeds was pretty fun- Mom decided we would plant seeds in the house first, to germinate. (She likes to use big words like that, but it basically means you put them in little dirt boxes until they do something other than sit there like the piles of dirt that they are.) It has been pretty fun, because I get to stand on a kitchen chair and water all the seeds, but Gabby usually gets strapped into her eating chair first. This makes her mad, but it's her own fault for constantly trying to eat the dirt. Anyhow, if didn't take long for some of the flowers to sprout, which is good for me because I was seriously starting to wonder if Mom knew what she was doing at all.<br /><br />So today, Mom said it was time to move those "flowers" outside. I should really clarify this. Mom keeps telling me that these are flowers and she shows me this picture on some packet and says things like, "See, these are going to be tall and blue, and these over here are going to be yellow..." You know, for someone who was so adamant that I learn my colors, it seems she should take her own advice- those things are green. I kept telling her over and over they are green, but she just doesn't get it sometimes...<br /><br />So I followed Mom outside and you know what she did next- she made a HUGE mess! It was awesome! I've never seen my Mom do things like this! I mean, she tends to ignore dirt in our house until she thinks "someone is going to call CPS and we'll deserve it..." But she NEVER goes out and just starts making massive, disgusting, beautiful messes. Today, she was a vision in mud. She was tearing out grass and throwing it over the fence. AND SHE TOLD GABBY AND ME THAT WE COULD, TOO!! (There was a little drama with her trying to tell Gabby which grass to pull up that ended up with Gabby screaming and running away and Mom muttering about how Dad is going to kill her for letting us ruin the grass he just planted... but she didn't stop us, so I'm guessing it wasn't that big a deal...) Mom's pants got all muddy, and she kept crawling in all the grass Gabby was watering which just made her more muddy. She had dirt in her hair, and on her face and under her fingernails- and she didn't even rush in and throw herself in the bathtub, like she always does to me when I try to come in the house looking like that.<br /><br />Now, I'm not stupid. I know that this kind of chance does not come up often- it might even be once in a lifetime. So I went with it, man! I started pulling up grass and dirt and throwing it as far as I could! Sure, sometimes it didn't really make it over the fence, and once it even hit Mom full in the eye. But she seemed to be too numb with whatever she was doing, she barely noticed. Then Mom started to let me water what she was planting with her watering can, and even let Gabby help, too! What, is it Christmas?! Gabby and I took that to mean we needed to help Mom water everything. We kept walking about 10 feet away and watering the same spot of grass over and over and over again. Then we would go back to where Mom was working and ask for more water. Eventually Mom wised up and went and got a big ol' pitcher from the kitchen so she could fill our cans up endlessly.<br /><br />I don't know what got into Mom today, but I like it! I really did learn a lot about science. I learned how to make the perfect kind of mud- not too wet, not too dry, will stick to everything, but dry quickly so it's hard to get out of clothes. I learned how to find worms and stick them in my sister's hair. I learned that if you hit a cat with a clump of muddy grass, she runs away and may even bonk right into the fence if you catch her off guard. Mom was right- gardening is very educational. And the voodoo effect it has on my Mom isn't too bad, either...</div>LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053692790939482469.post-71363107893852165152009-05-04T21:48:00.000-06:002009-05-04T22:22:55.620-06:00Wisdom Nuggets- ElizabethGrowing up, my mom had three answers to every problem in my life:<br /> 1) It's because you don't eat right<br /> 2) It's because you don't get enough sleep<br /> 3) It's on the floor of your room.<br />I would have to say, this truly did solve about 99% of my issues, except the ones that only many years of extensive therapy have any hope of putting a dent into.<br /><br />I've been a mother now for almost 4 years. I'm trying to find my own little universal nuggets of wisdom that my kids will remember me by. I've been working on one for a while now, I'd like to know what you think. It goes something like this: Ignore it and it will go away.<br /><br />If I'm honest with myself, I have to admit that I've been applying this to my life for many years now. Some people call it procrastinating. I object. Rather, it's a very carefully thought-out approach to addressing one's problems in a exceptionally proactive manner. It is, my friends, not the easy way out. No, this kind of philosophy takes discipline and committment, and is not for the faint of heart. I will give you some examples in my life:<br /><br />1) Laundry. Ignoring laundry is really hard. Because when it's not done, it takes over your home. We currently have some clothing that is actually speaking to us, in addition to the normal stuff that just tries to trip you when it jumps out of the baskets. (Dirty laundry is just mean like that...) But in some ways, ignoring it is effective, especially with kids' clothes. See, if you wait long enough, your kids will outgrow the clothes, so you'll just have to box them up for charity once you finally wash it. And, voila, it goes away! So, in this area, I consider my wisdom nugget to be a success.<br /><br />2) Fighting Children. Yes, my children fight. I know, I know, after all you've read about them, this comes as a complete shock. Sometimes they fight with each other. Sometimes with the cats. Sometimes with their toys. And sometimes just with life itself, because my kids are incredibly practiced in existential ponderings. It is not easy to ignore my children when they are fighting. They are loud. The are large. They have lots of energy. And they are creative. But I believe in my philosophy of ignoring, so, with the help of my MP3 player and strategically closed doors, I stick to my guns. And it's working. Sure, Josiah pushed Gabby down the stairs and split her lip open last week. But it's almost completely healed now, and if that doesn't fulfill the "it will go away" part of the wisdom, then nothing does.<br /><br />3) That Funky Smell coming from the Refrigerator. This one doesn't need a whole lot of explanation. Pretty much, you can ignore whatever is growing in that box next to the milk. Because whatever it is will either walk away on its own, or the other adult in your home will eventually throw it away. Or, I guess, someone from your county's toxic waste removal services will respond to a call from your neighbor. Ignoring this is hard, people. Perhaps the most challenging of all, but a couple of good nose plugs, or a good head cold, will make this easier.<br /><br />4) The Change Oil Soon light in the car. Rob likes to take credit for this one, and, to his face, I give it to him. But in reality, if I didn't ignore this light, it wouldn't get take care of. If I was proactive and took the car in to the dealer, then the car dudes would just try to tell me that I needed more spark plug fluid or something. And I would say, "Sure, whatever, don't worry about the cost!" and Rob would say, "Are you INSANE?? Don't EVER try to do anything with the car, don't take it to those crooks!" And the oil wouldn't get changed. So, in reality, my ignoring the light is the impetus that causes Rob to change the oil. Once again, nugget success.<br /><br />I really could go on and on, but the more I type this, the more I'm convincing myself. So, yeah, I think I'm going to go ahead and ink this in my Mom's Book of Wisdom I'm making for my kids. Now to move onto the next one- Sugary cereals for Breakfast gives you energy for the whole day...LilyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08669182978580283307noreply@blogger.com1