School Year

We were behind schedule for our back-to-school pictures this year but we got them done.

Look at those handsome boys!

  

Let's pretend that 'Start' is September .... and the X is the end of the school year.

That straight path would involve us following a chosen plan/curriculum for ten months.

Our path is more like the orange line I've drawn. We meander through the school year with a plan in sight but not always directly in front of us.
We're at one of those turns right now.



Usually it's pretty easy to tell when it's time to make a change. If when talking about upcoming activities I find that A is doing this behaviour below .... I know it's time to shake things up.

Our next unit, starting Feb24, will be on ocean creatures at the suggestion of 'A'.

I think that will bring him out from under those pillows.

Today?

Hmmm .... I wonder what is special about today?

Oh ya, it's this guy's birthday. Around here you get to call the shots on your birthday.

So that meant a swim and hot tub, pizza, chocolate fondue and a family movie.

Good choice M and Happy Birthday.

 

I found this photo on my camera. It was taken the night I cooked K's favourite dinner.
This is when I was bringing out the fruit in phyllo pastry with yogurt.

Rules and Regs

The boys have created this army game. It's quite complicated. They use three dice and use them to determine whether any attack is successful. There are intricate rules about what can attack and when and with what results. The game can continue for hours. 

I have to admit the homeschool mom in me takes great pleasure in this. I love that they have the time to do this kind of thing.

ROM

As E gets older he is starting to look more closely at the museum exhibits. Of course, he still likes to hit the kid area.

  

I think this was A's favourite thing yesterday. He couldn't get over how incredibly tiny the little people were. E said it reminded him of an exhibit we saw back in 2010 of Willard Wigan.

 

While passing a wall of Egyptian mural A spotted some hieroglyphics he thought he recognized.

After going down to the kid section we were able to find the hieroglyphics and confirm he had spotted the letter 'A'.

This is totally not related to our museum trip yesterday .. but it's still cute.

When M gets home at night the kids are waiting to pounce on him and get his attention. The other night he didn't even get a chance to change out of uniform before they surrounded him.

 

We Built This City

Well we finished it. The three of us have been working on a collaborative effort. Duties were divided based on our strengths. I worked on the main structures, walls, windows, roofs. A worked on special projects like the fountain and the pet store. And E pretty much took over the rest. Details, mini-figs, furniture, cars. It was about 15%, 15%, 70%.

And now I present .... Our City.

It's a busy place. Always some cleaning going on or parcels being delivered.

 

Not that they don't have time to relax. They stop for ice cream and/or tacos ... or sit on their outdoor balconies.

 

The main floor features a clothing store. You can check out the mannequins and then make your purchases.

 

E told me he modeled it after an OldNavy kind of idea.

 

If you don't mind line ups then you can grab a coffee at the coffee shop next door.

 

Or if you still have the shopping bug you can visit the computer store or the pet store.

 

The second floor boasts three separate apartments. Each decorated to suit the tastes of their owners. Whether you're sitting down to eat, reading a great book or getting some work done at home you'll find space in these apartments. Each with their own balcony!

  

The entire third floor is reserved for the penthouse suite. It has a much bigger kitchen, dishwasher, leather couch ..... and a soaker tub in the bathroom!!

 

This was really fun. The details came together to create something really unique. Next up for these LEGO builders ..... a church.

 

Thankfully we still have the construction crane that E made for the apartments to use on the church.



Just .... Enjoy

Pictures Galore

Lucky us we got to bowl this week.

The boys have really improved their game ..... maybe because they are getting stronger?

 

The body weight to ball weight ratio is more in their favour now. 

 

And finally I remembered to bring my camera to A's gymnastics class. He loves it.

We weren't able to get a spot in the Spring class .... he's going to be disappointed.



 

O.k., so back at the end of September we ordered these free hats from a cereal box offer.

The boys had given up hope of them ever arriving and then ..... voila! 

 

This is just a sneak peek at a LEGO project we have been working on.

More pictures to follow this week.

Hmm

Just some pictures of the kids chillin' here at the apartment.

 

Often when people find out that I homeschool the kids they'll say,

"I could never spend all that time with my kids."

So here are my completely unsolicited thoughts on that statement.

 

#1-Is there something about your children's behaviour that makes them not enjoyable?  Are they whiny, grumpy, obnoxious? If so, spending time with them will allow you to see where the behaviour is coming from and modify it. Are they tired? Frustrated? Sad? Fix it now before it becomes a habit!

 

#2-Is there something about your own personality that doesn't mesh well with them? Are you distracted? Dissatisfied? Tired? Impatient? Well here's that chance to mold feelings/behaviours that have been lurking!

 

#3-Does homeschooling sound like a weird/counterculture thing to do? Then just say it's outside your comfort zone.

#4-Do you want to work? Well then work. Own that. No biggie. There's no judgement here.

 

Finally, think about how that would sound if it was said in the reverse situation. If you said you were going back to work and I said, I could never spend that much time away from my kids. 

Rant over.

 

E has been wanting to try and use batteries to power a lightbulb using an old power cord.

He started working on it while I was cooking dinner. No sooner had he started than M (who was supposed to be doing homework!) had migrated over to the table. A Lego battery holding thing was made .... more wires were teased out of the old power cord ..... smaller lightbulbs located ....

 

And just before dinner was served .... voila ... LIGHT!!!