Language Arts
Reading
Shannon: Lessons 51 - 53. It seems we have hit another plateau. Shannon seems to get overwhelmed by the length of the stories at the end of each lesson. But we'll keep plugging along slowly.
Chloe: She has not been able to do the lessons that Shannon is on so I want to start working with her, one on one, at her own level. I started at the beginning of the book and went through parts of each lesson to see which lesson I should start on with her. I think we got up to lesson 15 so far.
Poetry
We finally got back to this after a pretty long break. The kids have memorized Bed in Summer and now we are starting on The Cow. I like how at the end of Bed in Summer, Chloe sometimes states, "It's hard to go to bed in the day". She is both summarizing the poem and agreeing with it at the same time.
Handwriting
Mead books: Letters G, Q, U, V, W, R
We had taken a break from this as well and I am amazed at how much each kiddo has developed in their fine motor control. Chloe is actually forming letters and Shannon just zooms right through without getting tired.
Math
Shannon finished up the unit on number placement. He did very well working independently. I had not originally planned on going back to the workbook but he seems to like it. If he gets tired of writing, I just go over the lesson without the worksheet. I should also note that he is doing awesome at printing those numbers. He used to get so frustrated while attempting a "6". But his 6's are great now and he is so proud of himself. He'll call me over to look at his masterpieces, "Check out this six, Mom!"
Chloe, not to be left out, has started completing worksheets from the beginning of the book that we never used because we started with this book mid-year. So she is learning one to one association. It also gives her a chance to work on fine motor skills without calling it handwriting.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mother's Day Rules!
I am here to fully admit that I tend to indulge a bit on Mother's Day. In fact, one day is not good enough so I call it Mother's Weekend. And this year was no exception.
Friday
The kids and I went to our home school group to be with my Catholic home school peeps. And this was an exceptional meeting because I got to meet, in person, one of my blogger friends. All of the kids and moms got on very well with one another and I really enjoy this time we all get to just be together and socialize. Here is Athena with one of my friend, Barb's, girls. She has five other kids just as sweet and cute as this one. No wonder she keeps having more (#7 due this Fall).
Friday Evening
Hot date with my husband. This date almost didn't happen because of some scheduling stuff but I am so glad we made the decisions that we made and went on this date. We had such a fantastic time. We went out for a light dinner at the Nordstrom's Cafe, one of our very favorite places to eat. We like it because it has a very chic atmosphere yet is casual and not very pricey. In fact our entire meal, with dessert, was only $25. Then we went to the Eastern Washington University Alumni Wine Tasting at the Spokane Club. Great food, great wine, and the great company of my sweetie.
Then we went back to Nordstrom's so that Stacey could grab the opportunity to fully spoil the mother of his children. He bought me a pair of Dansko Sandals that I have had my eye on. I really needed a new pair or sandals. Shoes and I have a checkered past. I wear a size 11. Yes, you read that right, an 11! So for a very long time, I hated shoe shopping. I was insecure about my feet and most stores don't carry my size. And just forget about shopping at a clearance. Since stores almost always have to order my size, they don't need to clearance them for quick sale. But I have since learned to love my feet and how cute they look in sandals and boots and I really love how the right pair of shoes can dramatically change the look of an outfit. I was quite the tom boy growing up but I think I am making up for it in my adulthood. But Nordstroms actually does carry many styles in my size and if not, they can order them and ship them right to my house. I have also found that they always have the lowest price for whatever brand I am looking at. AND, they will let you return anything if it isn't working out. I bought a pair of UGG boots this past fall and the color immediately soaked up the dye in my jeans. It looked awful. I went back in to see if they had anything that would take the stain out. They told me there was no way that stain was coming out so I thought I was just out of luck. They quickly followed this bad news up with, "Why don't we just get you a different color boot? That way the blue dye won't show up as well". My heros!
Saturday
Shannon's last soccer game of the regular season. We had to get up crazy early, for a Saturday, so we hopped in the car and stopped by Starbucks for scones and coffee. Great start to my day.
After the game, we went home to just relax. It has been a crazy couple of weeks so this was just what we all needed. Stacey watched some movies with the kids and I got to be in my office for a while to work on some future planning. Yes, I consider this relaxing and not working. Such a fine line.
Sunday
Spring Barrel tasting! This was our fourth year in a row. All of the wineries in Spokane participate in this event. We met up with my parents, Stacey's parents, and my Granny at Latah Creek Winery. Then we went to Barrister, White Stone, and ended at Barili. We had a late lunch, just me and Stacey, at Laguna Cafe on the south hill. We went to pick the kids up and saw them headed for the park so we joined them for some play. We drove home and spent the remainder of the day resting.
I would say the weekend had a perfect mix of alone time, husband and wife time, and family time. And I was able to recharge my batteries and hit the ground running on Monday. Back to the grind!
Friday
The kids and I went to our home school group to be with my Catholic home school peeps. And this was an exceptional meeting because I got to meet, in person, one of my blogger friends. All of the kids and moms got on very well with one another and I really enjoy this time we all get to just be together and socialize. Here is Athena with one of my friend, Barb's, girls. She has five other kids just as sweet and cute as this one. No wonder she keeps having more (#7 due this Fall).
Friday Evening
Hot date with my husband. This date almost didn't happen because of some scheduling stuff but I am so glad we made the decisions that we made and went on this date. We had such a fantastic time. We went out for a light dinner at the Nordstrom's Cafe, one of our very favorite places to eat. We like it because it has a very chic atmosphere yet is casual and not very pricey. In fact our entire meal, with dessert, was only $25. Then we went to the Eastern Washington University Alumni Wine Tasting at the Spokane Club. Great food, great wine, and the great company of my sweetie.
Then we went back to Nordstrom's so that Stacey could grab the opportunity to fully spoil the mother of his children. He bought me a pair of Dansko Sandals that I have had my eye on. I really needed a new pair or sandals. Shoes and I have a checkered past. I wear a size 11. Yes, you read that right, an 11! So for a very long time, I hated shoe shopping. I was insecure about my feet and most stores don't carry my size. And just forget about shopping at a clearance. Since stores almost always have to order my size, they don't need to clearance them for quick sale. But I have since learned to love my feet and how cute they look in sandals and boots and I really love how the right pair of shoes can dramatically change the look of an outfit. I was quite the tom boy growing up but I think I am making up for it in my adulthood. But Nordstroms actually does carry many styles in my size and if not, they can order them and ship them right to my house. I have also found that they always have the lowest price for whatever brand I am looking at. AND, they will let you return anything if it isn't working out. I bought a pair of UGG boots this past fall and the color immediately soaked up the dye in my jeans. It looked awful. I went back in to see if they had anything that would take the stain out. They told me there was no way that stain was coming out so I thought I was just out of luck. They quickly followed this bad news up with, "Why don't we just get you a different color boot? That way the blue dye won't show up as well". My heros!
Saturday
Shannon's last soccer game of the regular season. We had to get up crazy early, for a Saturday, so we hopped in the car and stopped by Starbucks for scones and coffee. Great start to my day.
After the game, we went home to just relax. It has been a crazy couple of weeks so this was just what we all needed. Stacey watched some movies with the kids and I got to be in my office for a while to work on some future planning. Yes, I consider this relaxing and not working. Such a fine line.
Sunday
Spring Barrel tasting! This was our fourth year in a row. All of the wineries in Spokane participate in this event. We met up with my parents, Stacey's parents, and my Granny at Latah Creek Winery. Then we went to Barrister, White Stone, and ended at Barili. We had a late lunch, just me and Stacey, at Laguna Cafe on the south hill. We went to pick the kids up and saw them headed for the park so we joined them for some play. We drove home and spent the remainder of the day resting.
I would say the weekend had a perfect mix of alone time, husband and wife time, and family time. And I was able to recharge my batteries and hit the ground running on Monday. Back to the grind!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Simplifying
I have been writing a lot lately about decluttering, cleaning, organizing, etc. Originally I started this process to make life easier and less stressful for me and the rest of my family. But then I realized an even greater purpose through the reading I have been doing lately. First, A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot. This book really got me thinking about my calling. Since God has called me to this vocation of marriage and motherhood, everything I do is for Him and should be that much easier to say "yes" to. "Yes, God, I will go do the laundry even though I would rather sit here and look at everyone's Facebook status updates." God asks this, and dozens of other tasks, of me everyday and that is a pretty awesome thing. So many people are lost out there, living with pain in their hearts, wondering what it is that God wants them to do with their lives. Well, I already know! Yet, it is sometimes so hard to just do it. So, that it something I am working on in my prayer life right now. I already know what God wants of me and that is a huge gift in and of itself.
The book that I am reading right now is called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. Since I have been reading a lot about cleaning and organizing, I actually thought this was another book on simpifying your home. But, this book is actually about the effect that a messy, hectic, stressful life can have on children. The funny thing is, I put this book on hold at the library about three weeks ago, because I saw it mentioned on a website along one of my web surfing adventures. Apparently, I didn't even know what the book was really about. But as I started reading it, I realized it is exactly what I need to be reading at this time.
Shannon's occupational therapy came to an end about two weeks ago and I wasn't really sure how we were going to have to adjust for that in our everyday lives. Things have actually been working out okay with a few exceptions. Whenever Shannon watches too much TV or plays computer games, he gets all crazy eyed. He becomes irritable, gets a nasty attitude, starts hitting things/siblings. I then react with complete non sympathy and pretty much get nasty right back and then we have this great unbreakable cycle until I finally remember that I am the adult (sometimes I wonder who throws the bigger tantrums: me or my kids). Well, lately the weather has really been gross and the kids have had a lot of down time due to my own projects around the house. And they have naturally spent a lot of this time in front of the TV/computer and that has caused fighting over said TV/computer, lots of screaming, and an overall stressful tone within my family. I tried to get them to play in the toy room or do some crafts instead but they haven't seemed interested. Enter Simplicity Parenting.
So, the third chapter deals with the environment that your child lives in. He begins addressing the toy situation. Most kids do have way too many toy. Now, I am pretty proud of the fact that we do not keep many toys around after they have been played out and I go through and throw out broken toys at least once a month if not more often. But then after quantity of toys, Payne addresses the kinds of toys you keep in your home. He said that any toys that don't foster creativity or use of imagination are pretty much useless and kids get tired of them after a short time. As I was reading this, I peeked in on my kids. Do you know what toys they were playing with? Not a single one of the new toys they had received as Christmas gifts. Not a single toy that requires batteries and makes lots of awesome noise. Nope, they were both in the toy room playing with good ol' reliable Legos. They were building airplanes . . . that talk, of course. Another thing we are guilty of is something the author calls "toy multiples". When we noticed how much Shannon loved playing with his wooden train set and trains, we went out and bought even more train track and even more trains. We also thought that this way the kids wouldn't fight so much over the two or three wooden trains. Wrong! They immediately started fighting, even more so and louder, over the twenty wooden trains.
So, I will be doing a toy makeover very shortly. I am not going to just dump it all in the trash (and the author does not suggest this either) but I will be putting a lot of stuff out of sight for a while. I can't believe how many perfectly new-looking toys the kids have because they lost interest in them after only a week of use. The toys I notice that they still play with are the wooden bead maze thingy (we have had for over two years), the wooden food (old), the dolls (old), the Legos (old), the stacking toys, and several of Athena's baby toys. Kids really do like to create their own fun. They don't want a battery operated toy doing it for them. Even though Shannon asked for a battery-operated train set for Christmas, he barely ever plays with it because it is constantly falling apart or running out of battery. And it only does one thing: you push a button, it goes around and around. I am only on chapter four but the premise of the book is that kids, in general, have too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, too much in their schedules. And this can make them crazy.
Stacey and I went out last night and bought a few items in an attempt to organize the arts supplies so they are more accessible to the kids. I can't expect them to want to do art projects if they can't even see the art supplies. And I got a folding table for them to do their craft projects on so we don't have to push everything aside when we do school or want to eat a meal.
So, that is where I am on my domestic journey right now. As I was typing this, Shannon woke up a bit early so I told him while I was finishing up he could either read or play quietly. I heard him shuffling around in the family room and finally he asked me to come look at what he made.
Out of all the toys in that room, he chose the Styrofoam (from the packaging of a shelf we just bought) to play with. Yep, sounds about right.
The book that I am reading right now is called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. Since I have been reading a lot about cleaning and organizing, I actually thought this was another book on simpifying your home. But, this book is actually about the effect that a messy, hectic, stressful life can have on children. The funny thing is, I put this book on hold at the library about three weeks ago, because I saw it mentioned on a website along one of my web surfing adventures. Apparently, I didn't even know what the book was really about. But as I started reading it, I realized it is exactly what I need to be reading at this time.
Shannon's occupational therapy came to an end about two weeks ago and I wasn't really sure how we were going to have to adjust for that in our everyday lives. Things have actually been working out okay with a few exceptions. Whenever Shannon watches too much TV or plays computer games, he gets all crazy eyed. He becomes irritable, gets a nasty attitude, starts hitting things/siblings. I then react with complete non sympathy and pretty much get nasty right back and then we have this great unbreakable cycle until I finally remember that I am the adult (sometimes I wonder who throws the bigger tantrums: me or my kids). Well, lately the weather has really been gross and the kids have had a lot of down time due to my own projects around the house. And they have naturally spent a lot of this time in front of the TV/computer and that has caused fighting over said TV/computer, lots of screaming, and an overall stressful tone within my family. I tried to get them to play in the toy room or do some crafts instead but they haven't seemed interested. Enter Simplicity Parenting.
So, the third chapter deals with the environment that your child lives in. He begins addressing the toy situation. Most kids do have way too many toy. Now, I am pretty proud of the fact that we do not keep many toys around after they have been played out and I go through and throw out broken toys at least once a month if not more often. But then after quantity of toys, Payne addresses the kinds of toys you keep in your home. He said that any toys that don't foster creativity or use of imagination are pretty much useless and kids get tired of them after a short time. As I was reading this, I peeked in on my kids. Do you know what toys they were playing with? Not a single one of the new toys they had received as Christmas gifts. Not a single toy that requires batteries and makes lots of awesome noise. Nope, they were both in the toy room playing with good ol' reliable Legos. They were building airplanes . . . that talk, of course. Another thing we are guilty of is something the author calls "toy multiples". When we noticed how much Shannon loved playing with his wooden train set and trains, we went out and bought even more train track and even more trains. We also thought that this way the kids wouldn't fight so much over the two or three wooden trains. Wrong! They immediately started fighting, even more so and louder, over the twenty wooden trains.
So, I will be doing a toy makeover very shortly. I am not going to just dump it all in the trash (and the author does not suggest this either) but I will be putting a lot of stuff out of sight for a while. I can't believe how many perfectly new-looking toys the kids have because they lost interest in them after only a week of use. The toys I notice that they still play with are the wooden bead maze thingy (we have had for over two years), the wooden food (old), the dolls (old), the Legos (old), the stacking toys, and several of Athena's baby toys. Kids really do like to create their own fun. They don't want a battery operated toy doing it for them. Even though Shannon asked for a battery-operated train set for Christmas, he barely ever plays with it because it is constantly falling apart or running out of battery. And it only does one thing: you push a button, it goes around and around. I am only on chapter four but the premise of the book is that kids, in general, have too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, too much in their schedules. And this can make them crazy.
Stacey and I went out last night and bought a few items in an attempt to organize the arts supplies so they are more accessible to the kids. I can't expect them to want to do art projects if they can't even see the art supplies. And I got a folding table for them to do their craft projects on so we don't have to push everything aside when we do school or want to eat a meal.
So, that is where I am on my domestic journey right now. As I was typing this, Shannon woke up a bit early so I told him while I was finishing up he could either read or play quietly. I heard him shuffling around in the family room and finally he asked me to come look at what he made.
Out of all the toys in that room, he chose the Styrofoam (from the packaging of a shelf we just bought) to play with. Yep, sounds about right.
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