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."
It's a beautiful life♥
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