Culture and Candy

     Granny and I took the kids to the Art Gallery today. There is a collection of Margaret Watkins photography that we (Granny and I) have wanted to see. And we saw it. Fantastic. Though the boys were a little bored....at least judging by the way they were laying on the benches staring at the ceiling and sighing while we perused.
     However, a trip to the gallery is not complete without a trip through the Contemporary Art section. (And at least two warnings from security guards/alarm systems)
The boys always enjoy this part. Highlights are listed below.

Brillo Boxes by Andy Warhol

Comments from the boys
     But they're just boxes.
     I really want to knock them over.












The Court by Brian Jungens


Comments from the boys.
     They'll let us touch this one?
     You could play a good LEGO battle on this.






An untitled felt piece


Comments from the boys.
     Is this art?
     Did they glue it together?







Treehouse Kit by Guy Ben-Ner



Comments from the boys.
     I don't get it.
     Let's watch the video one more time.
     I wish they'd let us take it apart and build stuff.







And to counteract any culture they may have accidentally absorbed we went trick-or-treating.

  

Day31- Narnia Series

The Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis
     I am reading this series to the boys one chapter a night. Thus far we have finished the first (Magician's Nephew) and second book (Lion, Witch and Wardrobe) and are halfway through the third (Horse and His Boy). Though saying that I have to acknowledge that there is some dispute regarding in what order the books should be read. We are following the chronological order most prefered by C.S. Lewis.
     I love how Lewis describes the environment around the characters and the animals as characters really draw the kids in.
     A drawback right now is that the language in this last book is overly complicated and I am finding that I have to stop at the end of each page and summarize in more common language what has happened.  If I were recommending this series to others, which I guess I am, I would suggest that you skip this third book altogether. It is not necessary to the understanding of the subsequent books.
    

Get Out the Knives

Only one more day until candy time. After school we got serious with some pumpkins.

First they scooped them out, then they drew their designs and finally they carved!

Pretty impressive I think. Yes?

The seeds are in the brine and tomorrow I'll roast them. The best is yet to come.

Day 30-Daddy, You're My Hero

Daddy, You're My Hero by Michelle Ferguson-Cohen
     I purchased this book when M was spending a lot of time away on training and deployment. I had been looking for something that would help the kids understand what daddy was doing and help them deal with those feelings. I think the book was successful in that regard. A complaint. For some reason the book trucks along with rhyming sentences until all of a sudden.....it doesn't rhyme. I'm not really sure what happened there but it really threw me off.

Spot the Differences?

Things that are the same.....M's hat, M's swim shorts, my wrap dress.

Things that are different.....the kids are bigger because three years has gone by.

The first picture is from 2009 when we stopped in Nassau on our cruise.

The second picture is from 2012 when we stopped in Nassau on our cruise.

Day 29- Mommy, Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween

Mommy, Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween? by Linda Hacon Winwood.

     I bought this book several years ago when I was wanting to explain to the children why we were opting out of Halloween. It was sufficient to meet the need but not particularly inspiring. I included it today because...........

.....here are the boys dressed up for their Halloween Cub/Beaver party.

      

Obviously my whole no-Halloween thing didn't quite work out the way I had hoped. We took a vote, me-M-and his mom, and I lost. So we do Halloween. And I don't regret my back-pedaling.....I mean...my change of heart. For whatever reason, E loves this holiday. He gets so much happiness preparing his costume and make-up. Typically he has a different costume for each Halloween party.

So....for E....Happy Halloween.

Day28- Franklin

Franklin by Paulette Bourgeois
     We have had quite a collection of these. Little Franklin has had a lot of adventures and his reactions/dilemmas are very typical of young boys. The author, Paulette Bourgeois, is Canadian and her Franklin books have sold more than 60 million copies. Wow!

Did you know that her first Franklin book, Franklin in the Dark, was inspired by a phrase she heard on an old MASH episode?

Day 27- The Odds Get Even

The Odds Get Even by Pamela Hall.

     This was not the first of the math based books we have read.
How Big is a Million? predated it, but even that wasn't the first. The very first was a book called My Family's Full of Shapes by Wordboy. (I tried to find an online picture to share but had no success.)
The second book was The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns. A math and a morals story.
By then I was hooked. I have found almost all of our math literature at second hand stores and I'm building up quite a collection. I have included pictures of some of them below.

Pre-Weekend

When did he get this grown up?

He had a Cub sleep over tonight that he was super excited about. He had no problem leaving me, his dad or his brother but he did jokingly try to sneak his guinea pig along.

 

Speaking of guinea pigs. I came into the diningroom and found A and his furry friend working on some art. Later he drew a carrot on the page for the pig, and then gave her a carrot for a treat.

 

Since E started a full-day Friday co-op on his own A will be home alone with me. Today, after Art with pigs, he worked on some experimental mixing

But just in case you think they're all cuteness and light.....here's a pic of my front hall. I asked A to bring in the 5 jackets that he had in the van and hang them up.

This, apparently, is how one hangs up a jacket.

Day 27-Tummy Trouble

Tummy Trouble by Josephine Page.
Countless numbers of times. Over and over and over. We read it to them and then they read it to us. It cracks me up that the kids were so willing to accept the fact that Clifford is gigantic....and that love made him grow.

Snack Quandary

I'm lucky in that I get to spend my afternoons with these cute little chickies and their brother. They're fun and they're sweet. And feeding them is a dilly of a pickle.

The happy faces in this picture are not happening consistently enough for me. I can't seem to find the right menu to keep all the little faces smiling at the same time.

I thought today I had definitely hit on a winning combination. Homemade rice-krispy squares and fruit skewers with grapes, pear and fresh pineapple. This snack was given a 4 out of 5. The littlest one doesn't like homemade squares. 

So help me friends. What are some after school snack ideas that are sure to be hits!!!



Day 25-Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days retold from J.Verne original by Deanna McFadden
The kids and I had seen several cartoon adaptations of this book through the years. It's a very exciting story. When we were ready for a bit more of the story but not quite ready for the whole story....we read this. It's a great stepping stone story and I look forward to following up with the real thing in a few years.

Cruise-Part Four

The best part about a warm weather vacation is the swimming.

The boys had a chance to work on their jumps.

Lots of creativity.

M borrowed Grandma's camera for some underwater fun.

I think they were practicing their 'dolphin' moves here.

My fave place to supervise pool time? From the hottub.

But it wasn't all pool. There was dolphin sighting from our room. And eating.

And karaoke singing. And mini-golf.