Past Two Weeks Thrown Off

Ending the third week, I'm looking back over the past two weeks. I feel like we didn't accomplish as much as we should have. Last week Drew's sisters visited, which was nice and I was able to do things with Emma for learning, but it wasn't our routine, so it felt off. This week, we were driving home from my parents house on Monday and I had my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. Drew was able to stay home Tuesday and Wednesday, thankfully, and work with the kids, but again not our routine. 

Some learning time included, painting, going to the zoo, Bible time, social skills, reading, writing, math and riding bikes. It sounds like we did a lot but not as much as I would have liked. Thankfully, we did get ahead of schedule in the first week which helped to be more relaxed these past 2 weeks. 

Playing a math game.

Looking for rocks and shells at Presque Isle.

Bonus Picture. I just love it!

Socializing with a friend at the park.

Riding her "new" bike at Grandma and Grandpa's.
They bought it for only $3.54.
We took the pedals off so that she could ride it like a balance bike.
So far so good. She's getting the hang of balancing.

Emma's only spill. She got back up and tried again right away. 

Success! Once she gets used to the balance we'll put the pedals back on for her to learn how to pedal as well. 

Riding bikes at home. Now they each have their own. Hannah's bike is not pictured. Benjamin has 2 bikes now.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for sending the bikes home with us. They are very happy!

Names, Pizza and Zoo

The kids and their friend Cooper coloring the letters in their names. Then I had them lay out their letters to spell their names. Emma learned how to spell our last name that day.

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Making pizza for dinner. The kids were learning how to stretch and press the dough.

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Socializing in front of the tiger's cage. There was a daycare group there also and the kids were being loud. For the first time we heard and saw a tiger in action. It was roaring and pouncing on the window. I have to say, it was awesome hearing the powerful roar of the tiger, but at the same time, we didn't want to stick around to allow the kids to be frightened by it.

Little buddies. In nursery, these two are usually sitting together.

Friday was my first venture taking the kids to the zoo to meet friends without Drew. Much to our surprise, it worked out very well. All of our kids were well behaved and we all had a great time! We will definitely be doing that again!

Week of May 28th Through June 4th's Random Activities

Firefighter teaching the kids about the color coordination for the hoses and the levers at the Big Equipment day at the Zoo.

Benjamin on a big piece of equipment (I don't know what it was called)

Emma's turn on the same thing.

Benjamin's first trip to the Library! He got his own card and took out a few books and DVDs.

Practicing her writing!!!

Making our official LIBRARY bag

Side One- Finished!

Library Card

I have to admit, and I'm a bit embarrassed by it, but we have never taken our kids to the library. I don't know why! It seems like it would be a logical place for us to take our kids, especially since we are home educating. Well, I'm not sure why, but Emma has been begging to go to the library for the past few days. We take them to B&N and we buy them books when we can, but she wanted to go to the library. Good for her! We aren't going to stop her from exploring.

So, when Drew surprised us today by coming home after a few hours of working, we took that opportunity to go to the library, just Emma and myself. We did, however, have to be back in time for Drew to go back to work for a few hours ( I love that he is able to flex his time). When we got to the library we opened an account. I got a card for myself and Emma got her own. She was so excited. One thing I learned from this trip is that we really have to work on teaching her how to write her full name, address, phone number and birth date. The Librarian asked her all of those questions and I was a bit disappointed in myself for not teaching her those things in depth sooner. I know they are very important, so that's something we will be working on from here on out.

After our account was set up we learned about how long the books, dvd's and so on are allowed to be borrowed. Then, the Librarian told us where the children's books are located. The Librarian asked Emma if there were any books that she was looking for in specific and Emma replied, "Bird books." So the Librarian located one children's bird book and another bird book from the adult's non-fiction section. We then looked around, found 3 dvd's and 4 picture books, 2 of which were for Benjamin. I was really surprised at the amount of books that we are allowed to take out at once. 100 books is a bit much but it's nice to know that we won't have to worry about a limit really. Another very nice thing about the library here is that we can return the items to any of the Erie County Libraries. That will come in handy when I will have Drew return books or dvd's at the Edinboro location.

When we returned home, Drew had to leave right away to get to a school for his work, but Emma, Benjamin and I sat down and read 2 books right away. Now they are both watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs while I write this post.

I think I might be just as excited if not more than Emma about the library.

Reading in Peace written by Kristin

While having a quiet house last night with Drew, Hannah and Benjamin at the park, Emma and I were able to read together. I read her chapter 2 of the Disney Fairy book and she helped read a little in Danny and the Dinosaur. I am proud of her. She is really starting to get a few of the sight words like the, to, and, he and a few others. The other words we have her sound out and she's doing really well with that also.

After we finished with those, we read "The Mini Page" this article was called "Yesterday's Games." It explained different games that generations before technology would have played. It included games like Marbles, Hopscotch, Telephone, Crack the Whip, three legged races and a few others. A lot of them I remember playing when I was little and I would love to pass them down to our kids. Overall it was a relaxing evening with Emma.

Cleaning, Zoo and Book Store

I'm not suggesting that cleanliness is next to Godliness, but if it were, the kids received a dual lesson in home-economics and spirituality. Look at that kitchen!

Hannah, Benjamin, and I made a pilgrimage to the kiddy holy land: the zoo. Upon arrival we quickly gobbled up a "Please, get them out of here" perpetual pass.

While Hannah and Benjamin were having a staring contest with a donkey, Emma and Mommy were off purchasing books. Three were read within hours of being home. The final one is in process. While these may not be pieces of the great literature canon, I consider them to be excellent primers for standardized testing: Which of the following doesn't belong in the group: Robins, Dinosaurs, Seals, or Pixies? (This question qualifies because it is multiple choice and horrible.)

Euthanize at Five

...written by Drew

Upon rising in the early morn, Emma was greeted with the ever present need to expand her vocabulary through a "seek and find." Now, I am no Captain Worksheet, but as Emma chose this from a dozen resources on the table, I wasn't about to steer her interests in another direction. In many ways the S&F provided a nice leisurely stroll to the morning activities. The other benefit was that nothing was lost by us both being distracted by the birds on the other side of the glass.

At some point in the day we took up a "Mini Page" with the topic of Animal Shelters. Although saddened by the prospect of animals being abused and/or abandoned by their owners, Emma handled the idea of euthanization fairly well. She immediately equated an animal being killed in this way to the passing of the only dog which she has known well, the pup of my youth (12-27), Kaya. Perhaps allowing her to watch Planet Earth dozens of times has numbed her to animal death. If nothing else, having to address the topic did make me wonder, "Is five years old too young to be exposed to the idea that millions of animals are killed by shelters every year?"

Other activities for the day included trips to the consignment store, JoAnn's (Fabric Store),
Walmart, the local park to play some t-ball, and then evening bathtub painting (what a mess.)

Past Activities

Home Economics

Princess Word Crown made out of pipe cleaners and letter beads.

Upper case and Lower case matching game.

Outdoor Physical Education