You've been...BOO'ED

Lastnight, we got BOO'ED. There was a knock at the door, Andrew opened it, and found this goody bag. We got BOO'ED last year too so this year I know what the heck it's all about. It's a fun idea where people spread Halloween cheer in secret and you are supposed to pass it on, meaning BOO a house. I need to get some Halloween goodies today. The boys were excited when they woke up to the surprise.

We had the most fun with the silly glasses (as you can see) and the foam pumpkins.

Thank you to whoever spread some cheer around my house this morning! 

We needed it.

Jude woke up at 5am. That NEVER happens. Thankfully he is napping now and I'm finally able to sit down, drink some coffee, and surf the web. Maddox is having his own quiet time, since he doesn't nap anymore.

School was fun this morning. He actually enjoyed the math worksheet and coloring (which he usually despises). He did a great job on his phonics worksheet and I could tell he was proud of himself.

I guess his favorite part today was taking the globe outside and measuring the relative distance between the Earth (our globe) and the moon. We found a ball that was about four times smaller than the globe (since the moon is about four times smaller than Earth) and we used our yardstick to measure. A string of yarn marked each of the ten yards.

Jude was a great helper too! He says, "I'm strong!"

(finding Florida on the globe) 

There's Maddox waaaaay down there, hanging out with the moon.

For the read-aloud of the day, I chose several different Beatrix Potter stories. We talked about the front and back cover, the author, and then I had Maddox narrate the stories back to me in his own words.

He LOVES Beatrix Potter stories.

His favorite today was"The Story of Miss Moppet."

He actually laughed so hard he fell off the couch.

:)

All that...for a hairball

I woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. with two little devils angels jumping in my bed. My first thought: "Oh, no! I forgot to put out the recycle!"

Usually they don't come til after 8, but you never know.

Five minutes later, I was toasting waffles, pouring coffee and...then I stepped in something mushy. And cold. And wet.

I looked down and my foot (and carpet) was covered in cat vomit. Gagging, I then realized that there was not one hotspot, but THREE. The cat had vomited three times on my carpet. I washed my foot, scrubbed my carpet, and held Piper hostage in her "cat room." She meowed all morning. Every time I checked on her, I found more vomit. And then a bloody hairball appeared. I frantically left Andrew a voicemail saying I needed to take her to the vet because she was apparently dying.

His phone was dead, so I never heard back, but when he came home he said, "Oh, that's just the red rug, not blood."

I felt pretty stupid. But still. It was a rough morning. And all that drama over a hairball. I hope the worst is over, but just in case, Miss Piper will remain in her cat room until tomorrow.

Somehow, we still had a good school morning. Maddox did his phonics worksheet on his own, deciding if the word describing the picture started with the s sound or the m sound. I got excited and told him every time he learns a letter sound, he is one step closer to reading.

I reviewed some moon facts and asked Jude, "So, what is the moon made of?" I expected something silly, but he said, "Rocks. And claters (craters)." Maddox was impressed and gave him a high five.

We read "Happy Birthday, Moon" and they both loved it. 

I hope tomorrow morning is another great school morning...WITHOUT cat vomit. 

Hello, Moon!

We started the moon unit today! I say that now with an exclamation mark, but this morning I was definitely not that excited. Sinus issues make me grumpy and FAR from a "morning person."

After the usual routine and worksheets, we started the fun stuff. We read a book about the moon and I learned some cool facts myself, like how it would take more than half a year if you could drive to the moon in a car.

I showed the boys how the moon reflects the sunlight, giving us "moonlight." We took a tin foil ball into the dark bathroom to represent the moon and then I pointed the flashlight (the sun) at it. To help them understand this concept more, I had them look into the mirror in the dark. Only when I turned the flashlight on the mirror, was the light reflected onto their faces, like the sunlight reflecting off the moon.

Jude thought it was funny that the moon is "bumpy." He and Maddox made a moon surface with flour and white paint, then we took a bottle cap and pressed it into the surface to make craters.

But, above all, the Oreos were the hit of the day. 

We used them to make different phases of the moon.

Every time Maddox would go to lick off part of the icing, he would conveniently "forget" and bite half the cookie. 

Needless to say, our Oreo moons lasted about a whole 30 seconds. 

Wrapping Up Unit 1

Today, I had a case of the Mondays. I woke up with a killer head/neckache and sinus issues. Thank God for Advil (and riding around 30 minutes until Mr. Jude took a nap).

We wrapped up the s/sun unit. We reviewed basic sun facts, why we have shadows, and talked about how the Earth rotates around the sun. This is a great vintage book that explains shadows...I love the colors!

We placed some objects on a black piece of construction paper, left them in the sunlight, then lifted them off the paper at the end of the day. The paper was faded except for where the objects were placed. Science is always a hit around here.

Maddox and Jude both have the "s" sound down and they retained their Spanish words from last week. I brought out the Cuisenaire rods for the first time today - they are different shaped rods (each size has a certain color) and the student builds different creations on paper incorporating all the sizes. It's basically a hands-on way to learn early math concepts. Jude loves them, but Maddox sighed as he used them. It's funny how different each kid can be.

Tomorrow we start unit 2: the letter M/Moon. I bought Oreos today (which never happens) to use to teach the different moon cycles. Maddox can't wait! (Let's just hope Jude and I don't eat them all tonight.)

Happy Birthday, Jude!

The weekend was wet and dreary, but we made the most of it. Jude woke up Saturday as a 3-year-old...at 5:30 am! I think Maddox was the most excited. We had silly face waffles (Jude indulged in the whipped cream), presents while it was still dark outside, and then we played.

Before lunch, we headed to Destin. The boys had a blast in Build-a-Bear and picked some stuff for their treasured "babies" (a rabbit and a bear). 

Lunch was at a 50's diner called Johnny Rockets. Jude drank his whole vanilla milkshake and finished Maddox's, too. The burgers and fries were delicious and the restaurant itself is a fun experience.

Back home, we had zero naps, so thank God for coffee. The day ended with Oreo ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Besides the creepy clown, it was yummy (and very messy!).

I think Jude had a great second birthday celebration (his first was in SC a couple months ago).

He can be the biggest fireball or the biggest sweetheart. He loves to eat, ride his 4wheeler, and build things...anything! We love our precious baby boy (who is growing up way too fast!). 

"S" Breakthrough

We had a breakthrough moment this morning. After 5 days of struggling with writing an "s," Maddox just did it. Finally. Perfectly. It just clicked. He was thrilled. Can you tell?

He was so happy he just kept writing S after S after S...until he filled up the page.

He's creative, has a great vocabulary for a 5-year-old, is an excellent listener, and is very, very perceptive, but sometimes he gets hang-ups with the simplest of things...like writing an S or counting certain numbers. But I'm so proud of him because he worked hard at it, mastered it, and was able to feel pride in himself (which will encourage him to want to learn more). And honestly I'm relieved that next week is the letter M (which he's written for over a year in his name) so we can breeze through the handwriting sheets without tears, yawns, and pleas. 

We met Jose today, too. The boys glued his features to his face and I labeled them with the Spanish words. We talked about  el pelo (hair) and la boca (mouth). Maddox loved this and Jude giggled, too. 

At this age, making learning fun is the key! 

It was Jude's last day as a 2-year-old. When I told him that made me sad, he said it didn't make him sad. He was ready to be 3. Maddox is ready too. He knows tomorrow brings ice cream cake, lunch at Johnny Rocket's, a Build-a-Bear trip, and presents.

Now, time for me to blow up balloons and wrap the last gift.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Maddox and the Pretty Good, But Better if We Went to Chick-Fil-A, Day

"Mom, why do we come here ALL the time? I am tired of this place!"

How can my offspring (Maddox) not appreciate the library! It's near blasphemy. I think he actually was hoping we were going to Chick-Fil-A too (like we did last time), so the library alone was just not as cool. And he didn't get to slide any books back into the book drop-off today, so that was another downer. He is fascinated by the book drop-off. "Where do the books go? How to the people inside get them? Can I put my head in there real quick?"

He played the computer there while I picked out a new stack of books. We got Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Where the Wild Things Are, Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday, and a few books about the moon (our next unit).

Today was Andrew's second day back to work post-surgery and the boys cried so hard I had to bring out the "Let's go get a Sonic milkshake" card. It worked. They actually got a blue coconut slush and a grape slush, and of course tots. We came home and checked the mail. Jude was being extra sweet. He let Maddox open the mailbox (even though I mentioned it was his turn because his birthday cards were probably in there) and then he even offered Maddox half of his birthday money! Maddox gladly accepted, but I convinced Jude to give him half of his stickers instead.

Thank you Mimi and Poppy! He loved the dancing robot.
And tomorrow, I'm sure more cards will be waiting on him. As Maddox said, "I wish we had birthdays all the time!"

Today in school we made a sundial with a pencil, a piece of cardboard and a ball of Play-doh. Maddox just can't fathom a time before clocks. We checked on our grapes and they are looking more and more like raisins. Yay! 

(The boys on their cardboard ship...with our sundial in the background)

He wanted to know why the guard at the gate had a funny voice. I told him it was called an accent and then he had a million questions about that. The conversation went from accents to different languages. Since he is so interested, I told Andrew to print off some Spanish worksheets at work and we will dabble with some Spanish words/culture. I loved it back in college, so maybe the boys will find it exciting too.

And one day, maybe Maddox will appreciate the library. Or else! 

"Good thing y'all are young."

Even though it doesn't feel like fall, I'm in the fall baking mood. Lastnight I baked up some orange vanilla monkey bread, today I was in the mood to make potato soup (best recipe ever here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/01/perfect-potato-soup/) and  tonight I made pumpkin rice crispy treats. I hope the boys eat this stuff up quickly!!

As I type, Jude is back in the kitchen. The tin foil is rustling in the pan and by now I imagine half the tray of rice crispy treats has been wiped out. He's a piggy sometimes. :) Lastnight we purchased his very first non-elastic pair of jeans. He's growing up!

Andrew went back to work today after being off 2 weeks for his surgery recovery. We miss him! Maddox is still up, hanging out half-awake on the couch and lying in such a way that he has a giant "peacock" sticking up from his head. School pictures are tomorrow so we will definitely have to fix that in the morning. Haha. I kinda wish he still had his curls but oh well...boys don't like curls apparently. They are not "cool."

Today was Day 3 of Unit 1 in school. Maddox had put another straw in our 1's cup by the time I hit the coffee pot button. We did the usual routine -Pledge of Allegiance, calendar,100's chart, poem- then I kicked off with a Montessori idea (thank you Pinterest). I had the boys attempt to copy my phonics mat, created with the textured S and four real objects that start with s.

Maddox did pretty well, though he still struggles with writing the "s" correctly sometimes. He has roadblocks when it comes to the curvy letters but we are working on it! The salt tray has helped a lot. 

And back to the salt tray. Maddox also uses it to practice his sight words and Jude uses his to doodle...or more likely, to lick and then made a grossed-out face (yet do it again).

I made a shape wall out of our flashcards and the boys call out the name of each shape with their "wand." Jude is a master of the shapes. He knows pentagon, hexagon and octagon and helps Maddox when he is stumped. He's the kid who loves puzzles, shapes and fitting things together. 

One of our initial challenges with homeschooling was keeping Jude occupied while I worked with Maddox. I now make him worksheets too and include him in everything, as long as he's interested. He loves his Tinkertoys, so I encouraged him to build a sun with them. Instead of writing the letter "S," I cut out an S racetrack from black paper and had him push his car around the curves. So far, he loves doing "preschool" and is picking up on a good bit.

We checked on our grapes and they've gotten some brown spots now. Maddox updated his chart. He did several phonics worksheets, worked on patterns, made a sun badge, and practiced measuring different objects. It was a fun day!

After school, the boys spent all day playing with the stomp rocket while I raked the never-ending pinestraw. And then they were knights and destroyed the dragon (plus my living room).

Yesterday they were football players. Maddox found the costumes at TJ Maxx and was determined that THESE were the only ones EVER for Halloween. According to Maddox, "it was a good day!" They got yummy Moe's, costumes, and spent all their beloved quarters from Mimi and Grandpa on mall rides and a bag of candy. 

As someone told us in Moe's lastnight, "They are so cute, but I see they keep you busy! Good thing y'all are young."

Adventures in Kindergarten

The first "real" week of homeschool has gone pretty well. I say "real" week because the last two weeks have mostly been preschool review/getting our feet wet. :)

Besides the general review like ABCs, numbers and fun preschool songs, we talked a lot about nature and the seven days of creation. I chose My Father's World kindergarten curriculum because it was the closest thing I could find to a Montessori method with a Christian perspective. I love it so far. It is very hands-on and nature-based, which is right up Maddox's alley. He is not the worksheet/flash card type kid (like Jude). That's another reason to love homeschooling...you know your child's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning and different styles and you can choose the teaching method. Now, it IS very challenging, but it's also rewarding and I think joining a local homeschool group will help a lot when it comes to having support. I'm excited for the year :) Since Maddox is so young for his grade (born one week before the cut-off), I like that he can get all this one-on-one attention and hopefully have a solid foundation by the time we put him in private school first grade (which is the plan so far). But we're taking all this one day at a time.

So! Here's a glimpse at the creation unit. It involved a lot of art, hands-on activities and discussing nature/creation. Jude made a mini-version of the creation book. He loves to join in and do "school" too.

This week we started Unit 1. Every unit focuses on a letter, that letter's sound and a part of nature that starts with that letter. This week is all about the sun and obviously letter S.

We kick off the morning with the Pledge of Allegiance, going over the calendar/weather, and the 100 chart. Each day we write a number on the 100 chart, Maddox adds a straw to the 1's jar. When we get ten straws, we will bunch them up with a rubber band and add them to the 10's jar. This is his favorite part of the morning.

Then I read a poem relating to the nature topic of the week. Today I read  "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. We went outside to look at our own shadows. We hid from them, watched them move and discussed why we have shadows. 

We use textured letters when we talk about letters and their sounds. For the letter s, he cut out pictures that begin with the /s/ sound and filed them away in the S envelope, which we will use throughout the week. We sang the phonics song and he did a worksheet circling the pictures that start with the /s/ sound and placing an X on the ones that do not. For handwriting (his least favorite), he practices in a salt tray first and then does his worksheets (which sometimes involve tears). 

We do math worksheets, too, and this week I read him several books about the sun and we talked about basic sun facts. We also sang songs and talked about how Jesus is the light of the world, just like the sun.

Today, Maddox put on his boots and we ventured into the backyard for a science project. We placed grapes on a plate and left them in the sun (Jude did this too). We made a grapes graph and every day Maddox will draw what the grape looks like and we'll talk about how it's changing and why. We should eventually get raisins! This is the kind of school that makes Maddox smile and gets him wanting to learn more ;)

Jude's favorite part so far was painting a sun. They took a canvas outside, some different paints, and painted away. Jude's sun is the abstract version ;)

So...that was our Monday and Tuesday.

I like that Jude is learning a lot right alongside Maddox.

And school with one kid doesn't take very long, so he has the rest of the day to play, explore and learn on his own. 

Here's the start of our homeschool adventure!